Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Up 1.5% After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) rose 1.5% during trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $9.58 and last traded at $9.48. Approximately 5,451,770 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 17,260,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.34.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 10.55%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -9.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.91. The firm has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter worth about $165,000. abrdn plc raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 351,288 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,181,000 after acquiring an additional 23,751 shares in the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 117.2% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 6,792 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 3,665 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is 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.