Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock Price Down 25.1% After Earnings Miss

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) dropped 25.1% on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $11.72 and last traded at $11.73. Approximately 69,237,828 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 413% from the average daily volume of 13,499,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.66.

The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.04). 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 the consensus estimate of $35.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.27%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.64.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan purchased 6,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,927,656,000 after acquiring an additional 10,962,030 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 57.5% in 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 period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $279,876,000 after buying an additional 1,720,228 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,519,845 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $170,233,000 after buying an additional 613,847 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,077,336 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $80,349,000 after buying an additional 339,143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.49 and a 200-day moving average of $20.19.

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.