Columbia Asset Management Trims Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Columbia Asset Management lowered its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 14.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,287 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 6,238 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 87.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying 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 $30,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 71.2% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Bank of America cut 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. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.19.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $8.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $10.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.65. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.46 and a 52-week high of $27.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $36.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.94 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.44%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.84%.

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.