Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.36.

WBA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 1.2 %

WBA stock opened at $17.60 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a fifty-two week low of $17.51 and a fifty-two week high of $35.38. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $15.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 13,456 shares of company stock worth $270,423. 17.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WBA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 42,662 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 4,331 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 76.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 77,750 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 33,751 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 53.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 33,393 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 11,602 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,298,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $579,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.