Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,834 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,131 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,834 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WBA. Kiltearn Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 20.6% during the second quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP now owns 1,634,200 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $46,558,000 after purchasing an additional 279,400 shares in the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 95,332 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after buying an additional 2,756 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65,153 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,856,000 after buying an additional 3,177 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 22.1% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 55,517 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 10,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $83,000. 57.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $21.03 on Tuesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.00 and a twelve month high of $42.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.69 and its 200 day moving average is $26.65. The company has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.80.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.02). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 2.21% and a positive return on equity of 12.31%. The firm had revenue of $35.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 13th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently -53.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WBA shares. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $26.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. TheStreet lowered Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 21st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $34.00 to $27.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 22nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.15.

Walgreens Boots Alliance 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.