Entropy Technologies LP Purchases New Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 78,496 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $703,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Capital World Investors grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 57.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,061,021 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $630,334,000 after acquiring an additional 10,612,373 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 98.8% in the second quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 6,021,126 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $72,826,000 after acquiring an additional 2,992,648 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the second quarter worth approximately $31,028,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter worth approximately $16,365,000. Finally, Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter worth approximately $5,252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 2.4 %

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $8.81 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.22 and a 1-year high of $27.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of -0.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.99.

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -9.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on WBA shares. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.