JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Price Target to $20.00

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $30.00 to $20.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. SVB Leerink lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an underperform rating and issued a $11.00 target price (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Friday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $19.00.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 4.3 %

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $11.58 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.72. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a twelve month low of $11.48 and a twelve month high of $31.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $36.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.94 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.64%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile

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.