EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 10,707 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 96.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,786 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 10,707 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 107.1% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 56,508 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 29,219 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 193.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 193,526 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,734,000 after acquiring an additional 127,558 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,451,000. Wahed Invest LLC grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 11.5% during the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 17,383 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter worth approximately $24,226,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA opened at $10.39 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.08 and a 1 year high of $27.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.72.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -9.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WBA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company 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.