Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Down 2.3%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) shares traded down 2.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $11.56 and last traded at $11.60. 2,689,733 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 15,665,557 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $30.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.86.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.72. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $13.64 and its 200-day moving average is $17.91.

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.47%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,502 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,873,000 after buying an additional 2,393 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 2nd quarter valued at $479,000. LCM Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 2nd quarter valued at $131,000. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 22,143 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 6,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Private Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,463 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares in the last quarter. 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.