Ingalls & Snyder LLC Makes New $2.67 Million Investment in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 298,209 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,672,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 24,392 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 50.2% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 17,690 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 5,909 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter worth $279,000. Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter worth about $396,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 235.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 776,787 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $6,960,000 after purchasing an additional 545,226 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 1.3 %

WBA stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.86. 1,641,275 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,425,852. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.08 and a 52-week high of $27.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. 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 $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.99%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Profile

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.