Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) PT Lowered to $21.00 at Morgan Stanley

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $22.00 to $21.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

WBA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays started coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an underweight rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, February 26th. 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 research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a reduce rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $25.00.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBA opened at $21.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a PE ratio of 32.86, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1-year low of $19.68 and a 1-year high of $36.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.28.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a net margin of 0.40% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,992.64. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy C. Wentworth purchased 10,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.22 per share, for a total transaction of $242,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 585,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,171,654.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Valerie B. Jarrett purchased 4,456 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 63,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.0% during the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 35,461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,588,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.7% in the second quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC now owns 20,759 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.2% in the third quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 10,982 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 114,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.