Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Sets New 12-Month Low at $30.21

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Rating) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $30.21 and last traded at $30.22, with a volume of 1366569 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $45.00 to $43.00 in a report on Sunday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, March 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.46.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $33.72 and its 200 day moving average is $36.34.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.06. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 2.36% and a positive return on equity of 12.42%. The business had revenue of $34.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 19th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 18th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.08%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -52.60%.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CEO Rosalind G. Brewer purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $33.95 per share, for a total transaction of $339,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 369,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,559,632.75. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 84,503.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,325,830 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $311,053,000 after acquiring an additional 8,315,989 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 53,374,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,675,950,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095,684 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 63,406,129 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,192,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797,885 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 39.4% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,702,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $300,946,000 after acquiring an additional 2,459,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,159,800 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $155,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.71% of the company’s stock.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

(Get Rating)

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc engages in the provision of healthcare and retail pharmacy services. It operates through the following segments: United States Retail Pharmacy, International, and United States Healthcare. The US Retail Pharmacy segment includes the operation of retail drugstores, health and wellness services, specialty and home delivery pharmacy services, and equity method investment.