Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,300 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 68,700 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WBA. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $164,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 151,527 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,358,000 after acquiring an additional 3,740 shares during the last quarter. Walker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $94,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 701.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 282,619 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 247,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 53,605 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 14,043 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ WBA traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $9.27. 19,160,336 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,289,021. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $9.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.69. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.22 and a one year high of $27.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.75 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.79%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's payout ratio is -9.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WBA shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has an average 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.