Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Trading Up 3.2% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) were up 3.2% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $11.20 and last traded at $11.13. Approximately 4,884,463 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 14,919,822 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.79.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock 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. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.71.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of -1.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.32.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBA. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the period. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.