DNB Asset Management AS Increases Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

DNB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 9.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 124,912 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,844 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Polianta Ltd grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 33.3% in the second quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 67,200 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 221.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,275 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 7,769 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter worth approximately $411,000. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 73.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 110,889 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,405,000 after buying an additional 47,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 89.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 349,464 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $7,580,000 after buying an additional 165,389 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 0.2 %

WBA opened at $10.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.62 and a 1-year high of $29.85. The company has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a PE ratio of -1.62, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.56.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.94 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.15%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $30.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.86.

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.