Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Hits New 1-Year Low at $17.24

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $17.24 and last traded at $17.26, with a volume of 11426019 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $14.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.53.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,927,656,000 after purchasing an additional 10,962,030 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,448,648 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $481,694,000 after buying an additional 4,163,317 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,026,420 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $378,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013,807 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $279,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720,228 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,519,845 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $170,233,000 after acquiring an additional 613,847 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.