Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock Price Down 2.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) shares dropped 2.5% on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $17.00 to $12.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Walgreens Boots Alliance traded as low as $11.26 and last traded at $11.28. Approximately 8,255,778 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 14,606,245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.57.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $30.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highlander Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 3.1 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $16.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.67, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.72.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 negative net margin of 3.99% and a positive return on equity of 12.63%. The company had revenue of $36.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently -14.84%.

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.