Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Trading Up 2% (2024)

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) shares were up 2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $15.57 and last traded at $15.45. Approximately 3,003,568 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 12,934,575 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WBA. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. SVB Leerink dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $23.57.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on WBA

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a PE ratio of -2.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. Research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance's payout ratio is -14.29%.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan purchased 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WBA. Verity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter worth $411,000. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 73.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 110,889 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,405,000 after buying an additional 47,136 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 89.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 349,464 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $7,580,000 after acquiring an additional 165,389 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the first quarter worth approximately $16,365,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter worth approximately $145,000. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile

(Get 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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