Rakuten Securities Inc. Has $2.15 Million Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 126.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 239,816 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 133,684 shares during the period. Walgreens Boots Alliance comprises about 0.9% of Rakuten Securities Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Rakuten Securities Inc.'s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 147,956 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $3,209,000 after buying an additional 2,747 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter valued at $260,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 54,933 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 11,389 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter valued at $503,000. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the first quarter valued at about $325,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WBA. Bank of America decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 3.8 %

NASDAQ WBA traded down $0.36 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,872,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,314,195. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.08. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.22 and a 1-year high of $27.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a PE ratio of -0.94, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.69. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, research 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.07%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's payout ratio is presently -9.99%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company 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.