Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Price Target Cut to $9.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $13.00 to $9.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of 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. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Friday. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed an underperform rating and issued a $11.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $20.64.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

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 simple moving average of $16.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.19. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 12 month low of $11.68 and a 12 month high of $31.32.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.04). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The firm had revenue of $36.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 268.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 184,722 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $4,108,000 after acquiring an additional 134,587 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 39.2% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 75,776 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,685,000 after buying an additional 21,352 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 44.7% in the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 23,072 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 7,132 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 323,817 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 106.5% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 49,720 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 25,637 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.