Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 384,825 Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 384,825 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,448,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 76.6% during the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 440,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,947,000 after purchasing an additional 190,996 shares in the last quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 13.6% during the third quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT now owns 1,041,440 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,331,000 after acquiring an additional 124,950 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 322,984 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,019,000 after purchasing an additional 56,725 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,215,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 83.4% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 385,600 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 175,400 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of WBA stock opened at $8.66 on Monday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $27.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.51. The company has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.69.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The company 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%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -9.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WBA shares. UBS Group increased 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.88.

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.