Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Given Underperform Rating at Bank of America

Bank of America restated their underperform rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $11.00 price objective on the pharmacy operator’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $22.00.

WBA has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. SVB Leerink lowered 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 report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $20.64.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.8 %

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $12.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.49 and a 200-day moving average of $20.19. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1 year low of $11.68 and a 1 year high of $31.32.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.94 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 3.99% and a positive return on equity of 12.63%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Highlander Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.