Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 21,284 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 753% compared to the average volume of 2,495 call options.
In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director William C. Foote sold 2,736 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 19,151 shares in the company, valued at $1,528,058.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 13.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hudock Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the first quarter. Hudock Capital Group LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the first quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,451 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% in the first quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.6% in the first quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 2,703 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, WealthTrust Arizona LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the first quarter. WealthTrust Arizona LLC now owns 5,243 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.16% of the company’s stock.
WBA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 14th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Group LLC dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 31st. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Credit Suisse Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, July 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $91.06.
Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ WBA) opened at 81.13 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $79.95 and its 200-day moving average is $82.28. The company has a market capitalization of $86.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 1.25. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a one year low of $75.18 and a one year high of $89.69.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 29th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $30.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.72 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 17.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post $5.00 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. 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 40.30%.
Walgreens Boots Alliance declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, June 29th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the pharmacy operator to buy up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
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Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile
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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