Newport Trust Company LLC Purchases New Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Newport Trust Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,565,355 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $31,028,000. Newport Trust Company LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Walgreens Boots Alliance as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WBA. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 282.1% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,219 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in 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 lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $8.98 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.85. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.46 and a twelve month high of $27.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of -1.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.70.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.05). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The business had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.14%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -14.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target 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. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.