Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 1,022,015 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 29.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,483,556 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,022,015 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.29% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $30,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 57.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,061,021 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $630,334,000 after buying an additional 10,612,373 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 98.8% in the 2nd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 6,021,126 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $72,826,000 after purchasing an additional 2,992,648 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,718,659 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,882,000 after purchasing an additional 156,484 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,249,654 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $58,738,000 after purchasing an additional 27,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,839,987 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $39,909,000 after purchasing an additional 371,386 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WBA shares. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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. 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 decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA opened at $8.70 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a PE ratio of -1.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.70. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.22 and a 52 week high of $27.05. 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 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 issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.49%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -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.