Fmr LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Fmr LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,258,919 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,525 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $29,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WBA shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 3.4 %

NASDAQ WBA opened at $8.85 on Tuesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.08 and a one year high of $27.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.84. 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 has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of -0.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.66.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given 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 11.30%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.99%.

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.