Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock Price Down 4.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price traded down 4.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $17.00 to $12.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Walgreens Boots Alliance traded as low as $11.10 and last traded at $11.10. 26,845,517 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 29% from the average session volume of 20,813,700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.57.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $11.00 target price (down from $22.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Friday, June 28th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. SVB Leerink cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Barclays cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 939,006 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $20,480,000 after buying an additional 18,517 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 15,761 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 1,904 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,331,000. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 475,403 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $10,573,000 after purchasing an additional 7,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 307,069 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $6,834,000 after purchasing an additional 12,543 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 4.1 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.89. The firm has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.72. 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 (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.05). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 3.99% and a positive return on equity of 12.63%. The business had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.84%.

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.