Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Down 3.9% - Here's Why

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 3.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $9.91 and last traded at $9.98. Approximately 2,760,651 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 18,026,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBA has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America decreased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.68.

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance's dividend payout ratio is currently -9.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Inlet Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.9% in the second quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 47,820 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 15,340 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 65,690 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,215 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by 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.