Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock Price Up 1.2% - Here's What Happened

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) shares were up 1.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $9.67 and last traded at $9.55. Approximately 5,234,216 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 17,257,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on WBA shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.67.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 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 the consensus estimate 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 company's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.54 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.70%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's payout ratio is currently -9.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 322,984 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,019,000 after purchasing an additional 56,725 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 56.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,831 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 94.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 30,090 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 14,581 shares during the last quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 264,644 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $125,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.