Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,792 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 2,067 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,706 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 14,651 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 9.2% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 393,500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 33,253 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter valued at about $154,000. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 322,984 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,019,000 after acquiring an additional 56,725 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA stock opened at $9.07 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.22 and a 12 month high of $27.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.91, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.21.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. The business had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.03%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBA has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.88.

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.