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

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s stock price fell 25.1% during mid-day trading 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. 69,237,828 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 413% from the average session volume of 13,499,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.66.

The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.64.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,494 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 1,893 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at $333,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 115,196 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,008,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at $297,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 38.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 280,545 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,325,000 after buying an additional 78,523 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 0.8 %

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