Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $5.81 Million Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 2,599.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 622,703 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 599,637 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $5,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Financial Corp IN increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,215 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares during the last quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 264,644 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,893 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 4,562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $12.52 on Tuesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.08 and a 52 week high of $23.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $9.57 and its 200-day moving average is $9.83. The firm has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.64.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The business had revenue of $39.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.27.

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.