Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Acquired by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,632 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WBA. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 162.5% during the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 87.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 71.2% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $8.48 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.22 and a 52 week high of $27.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.79%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WBA. Barclays upped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.88.

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.