Sanders Morris Harris LLC Decreases Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Sanders Morris Harris LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 85.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,948 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 138,450 shares during the period. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Financial Corp IN boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8,670.3% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,208 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 250.0% in the 2nd quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 0.6 %

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $12.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,463,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,399,582. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.81. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $23.76. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.23, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.64.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The firm had revenue of $39.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is -9.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WBA. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.04.

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.