Argent Trust Co Has $1.81 Million Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Argent Trust Co cut its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,842 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 19,788 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WBA. Syon Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $333,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $297,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 280,545 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,325,000 after buying an additional 78,523 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC lifted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 373.3% in the first quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 112,398 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,438,000 after buying an additional 88,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 301,910 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $7,883,000 after acquiring an additional 40,095 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

WBA opened at $9.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.65. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.46 and a 52-week high of $27.05. The firm has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $10.40 and its 200-day moving average is $14.89.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is presently -14.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WBA shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given 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 a consensus target price of $14.73.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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.