Aigen Investment Management LP Buys New Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 97,289 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $872,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 57.5% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,061,021 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $630,334,000 after buying an additional 10,612,373 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 98.8% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,718,659 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,882,000 after acquiring an additional 156,484 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 2nd quarter worth $31,028,000. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.8% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,038,878 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $24,660,000 after purchasing an additional 198,891 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WBA shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 4.0 %

WBA stock opened at $9.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.08. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.22 and a one 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.

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.99%.

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.