Forsta AP Fonden Increases Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 13.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 210,200 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,400 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 282.1% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,219 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, First Personal Financial Services increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 260.0% during the first quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 1,800 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WBA. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA stock opened at $9.21 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of -1.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.46 and a 52 week high of $27.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.05). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 3.99% and a positive return on equity of 12.63%. The company had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.86%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -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.