Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 322,984 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 56,725 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $3,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WBA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on 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. Bank of America reduced their price objective on 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. Truist Financial cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock traded down $0.20 on Friday, hitting $9.07. 21,096,255 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,759,672. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.17. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.22 and a 1-year high of $27.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) 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. 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance's dividend payout ratio is presently -9.99%.

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.