Swedbank AB Decreases Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Swedbank AB reduced its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 410,066 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 153,573 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $3,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pitcairn Co. purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter worth about $159,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 75.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 672,104 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $6,022,000 after purchasing an additional 288,657 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter worth about $106,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter worth about $269,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 43.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,969,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $98,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329,857 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, October 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ WBA opened at $9.06 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.08 and a 52 week high of $27.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of -0.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.37.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.04%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.99%.

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.