Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Bought by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,030 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,332 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ WBA traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.40. The company had a trading volume of 8,244,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,684,164. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $13.55 and its 200-day moving average is $17.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.65. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.69 and a twelve month high of $30.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a PE ratio of -1.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.72.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its earnings results 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). 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 business’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.77%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is -14.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WBA shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.86.

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.