Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock Price Up 2.6%

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) traded up 2.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $8.98 and last traded at $8.97. 5,542,307 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 15,939,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.19.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of -1.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.94 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.43%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently -14.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBA. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 71.2% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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.