Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock Price Up 6.3%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) shares were up 6.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $16.17 and last traded at $16.11. Approximately 19,148,786 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 53% from the average daily volume of 12,492,978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.57.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.50.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,927,656,000 after buying an additional 10,962,030 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 57.5% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,061,021 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $630,334,000 after purchasing an additional 10,612,373 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $279,876,000 after buying an additional 1,720,228 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,519,845 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $170,233,000 after buying an additional 613,847 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,077,336 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $80,349,000 after buying an additional 339,143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc operates as a healthcare, pharmacy, and retail company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Retail Pharmacy, International, and U.S. Healthcare. The U.S. Retail Pharmacy segment engages in operation of the retail drugstores, health and wellness services, specialty, and home delivery pharmacy services, which offers health and wellness, beauty, personal care and consumables, and general merchandise.