Xponance Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Xponance Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,260 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 6,634 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 76.2% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 24,726 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 10,696 shares during the period. Symmetry Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the second quarter worth $253,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 216.6% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 85,192 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 58,281 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the second quarter worth $385,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.4% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 308,736 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,734,000 after purchasing an additional 24,041 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 6.3 %

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $9.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a PE ratio of -1.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.33. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.22 and a 52-week high of $27.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $36.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.94 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -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.