CWA Asset Management Group LLC Acquires New Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,809 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $106,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 322,984 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,019,000 after purchasing an additional 56,725 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 83.4% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 385,600 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after buying an additional 175,400 shares in the last quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,252,000. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.8% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,038,878 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $24,660,000 after buying an additional 198,891 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 %

Shares of NASDAQ WBA opened at $9.03 on Thursday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.22 and a 1 year high of $27.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.01. The company has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.90, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.69. 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 (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. 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 earned $0.67 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.07%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -9.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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. UBS Group increased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note 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 for the company 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.88.

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.