Fmr LLC Boosts Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Fmr LLC raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,258,919 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,525 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned 0.38% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $29,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WBA. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 43.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,969,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $98,284,000 after buying an additional 3,329,857 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.5% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 6,955,880 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $62,325,000 after acquiring an additional 934,754 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.1% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,718,659 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,882,000 after acquiring an additional 156,484 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the second quarter worth about $31,028,000. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.8% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,038,878 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $24,660,000 after purchasing an additional 198,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 3.4 %

WBA stock opened at $8.85 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of -0.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.66. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.08 and a 12 month high of $27.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.30%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -9.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WBA shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance 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.