Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA – Free Report) by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 429,126 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 72,824 shares during the period. Walgreens Boots Alliance makes up 0.6% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $12,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.6% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 150,164 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $4,278,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter worth approximately $10,858,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.8% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 730,480 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $20,811,000 after purchasing an additional 20,012 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.8% in the second quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 18,827 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 209,632 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $5,972,000 after purchasing an additional 8,921 shares during the period. 57.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 0.6 %
Shares of WBA traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.90. The stock had a trading volume of 3,424,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,156,770. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.00 and a 1 year high of $42.29. The firm has a market cap of $18.06 billion, a PE ratio of -5.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $21.69 and its 200 day moving average is $26.65.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.02). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 2.21% and a positive return on equity of 12.31%. The firm had revenue of $35.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 13th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is presently -53.78%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WBA shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, October 23rd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Thursday, September 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.15.
View Our Latest Research Report on WBA
Walgreens Boots Alliance Profile
(Free Report)
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.
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