Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Increases Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 31.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 134,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 32,151 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 162.5% during the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 87.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 4.3 %

WBA opened at $8.66 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.08 and a 52 week high of $27.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.75 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.55%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WBA. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of 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 increased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.88.

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.