Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Lowers Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. reduced its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Rating) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,159 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,343 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 56.4% in the third quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 960 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 209.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, CX Institutional purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. 56.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on WBA shares. Cowen raised Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, November 11th. Cowen upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $41.00 to $32.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.46.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

WBA stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.03. The company had a trading volume of 584,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,213,539. The firm has a market cap of $31.08 billion, a PE ratio of -10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.75. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.39 and a 1-year high of $51.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 5th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $33.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.04 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 13.57% and a negative net margin of 2.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 15th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 14th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -55.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, EVP Kevin M. Ban sold 10,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total transaction of $414,077.57. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,121,944.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, EVP Kevin M. Ban sold 10,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.19, for a total transaction of $414,077.57. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,121,944.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 16,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.89, for a total value of $660,977.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,993.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc operates as an integrated healthcare, pharmacy, and retailer in the United States (U.S.), 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 sells prescription drugs and an assortment of retail products, including health, wellness, beauty, personal care, consumable, and general merchandise products through its retail drugstores.