Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC reduced its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,131 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 198 shares during the period. Walgreens Boots Alliance makes up about 1.0% of Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RB Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 72.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 482,962 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $40,115,000 after buying an additional 203,635 shares in the last quarter. PagnatoKarp Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Barings LLC raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 219.1% in the fourth quarter. Barings LLC now owns 28,602 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,367,000 after buying an additional 19,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 562.8% in the fourth quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 7,899,951 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $653,800,000 after buying an additional 6,708,040 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.20% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) opened at 79.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $78.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.46. The firm has a market cap of $85.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11 and a beta of 1.26. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.18 and a 52-week high of $89.69.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 29th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 17.34%. The company had revenue of $30.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post $5.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. This is a positive change from Walgreens Boots Alliance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.78%.
Walgreens Boots Alliance declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the pharmacy operator to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
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WBA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Pivotal Research set a $85.00 price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 2nd. Zacks Investment Research cut Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 14th. Jefferies Group LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down from $89.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.69.
In other news, Director William C. Foote sold 2,736 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.79, for a total value of $218,305.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,151 shares in the company, valued at $1,528,058.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 13.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Walgreens Boots Alliance
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc (Walgreens Boots Alliance) is a holding company. The Company is a global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. Walgreens Boots Alliance operates through three divisions, including Retail Pharmacy USA, Retail Pharmacy International and Pharmaceutical Wholesale. The Company’s products are marketed under a number of brands, which include No7, the Botanics range, Almus (generic medicines), Boots Pharmaceuticals and Soap & Glory (bathing and beauty brand).
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