Oracle Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Oracle Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 93.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 410,000 shares during the quarter. Walgreens Boots Alliance comprises 0.3% of Oracle Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Oracle Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 162.5% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 87.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 71.2% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered 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 research note on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $8.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.46 and a 12-month high of $27.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $36.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued 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 yield of 11.68%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.84%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance 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.