Hennessy Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 63.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,550 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 119,300 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Financial Corp IN increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8,670.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,208 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the second quarter worth $34,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.27.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBA traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.52. The company had a trading volume of 33,936,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,400,614. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.64. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $23.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.84. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The business had revenue of $39.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance's payout ratio is -9.77%.

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.