Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Receives $24.36 Average PT from Brokerages

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.36.

A number of research firms have recently commented on WBA. UBS Group cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. SVB Leerink dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $17.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.53, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73. 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 has a one year low of $17.49 and a one year high of $35.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.77.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett purchased 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,992.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett purchased 4,456 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 13,456 shares of company stock valued at $270,423. 17.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 308.4% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2,314.5% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.