Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Trading Up 2.6%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price shot up 2.6% during mid-day 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Four 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.19.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 0.1 %

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued 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). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The company had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.43%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 162.5% in the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 71.2% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.