Bank of America Cuts Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Price Target to $22.00

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) had its price target lowered by Bank of America from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underperform rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an underweight rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. SVB Leerink cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC restated a reduce rating and issued a $20.00 price target (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated a market perform rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $25.00.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA stock opened at $21.69 on Tuesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a one year low of $19.68 and a one year high of $36.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.72 and its 200 day moving average is $22.28. The company has a market capitalization of $18.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a net margin of 0.40% and a return on equity of 10.48%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 151.52%.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 15,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $350,567.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 15,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $350,567.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 308.4% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2,314.5% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.