Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 113,242 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 54.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 321,425 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 113,242 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 18.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,997,580 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $385,258,000 after buying an additional 6,569,223 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 43.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,969,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $98,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329,857 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 98.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 6,021,126 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $72,826,000 after purchasing an additional 2,992,648 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter worth $24,226,000. Finally, Newport Trust Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the second quarter worth $31,028,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $9.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.08 and a one year high of $27.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.66.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued 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. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The company had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.88%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WBA shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance 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.