Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Hits New 1-Year Low at $17.24

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $17.24 and last traded at $17.26, with a volume of 11426019 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on WBA shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.53. The firm has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.80%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.29%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 114,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 107,071 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,796,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 9,640 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.8% in the first quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 31,593 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 11,866 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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.