Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 37.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,445 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,950 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 87.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 71.2% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $8.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.69. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.22 and a twelve month high of $27.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. The business had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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 dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.88.

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.