Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Receives $23.57 Average PT from Analysts

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.57.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,235,859.22. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WBA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,927,656,000 after purchasing an additional 10,962,030 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,061,021 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $630,334,000 after buying an additional 10,612,373 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,026,420 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $378,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013,807 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $279,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,519,845 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $170,233,000 after acquiring an additional 613,847 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 0.6 %

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $15.55 on Monday. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a one year low of $14.62 and a one year high of $32.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.63. The company has a market capitalization of $13.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.22, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

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.