Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Trading Down 3.9% – Here’s Why

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s stock price was down 3.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $9.91 and last traded at $9.98. Approximately 2,760,651 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 18,026,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WBA. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $9.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.69.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.99%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 162.5% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 87.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8,670.3% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,208 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 71.2% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.