State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Boosts Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 3.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 282,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 8,416 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 162.5% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 87.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 71.2% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter worth $33,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $9.03 on Thursday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.22 and a 12-month high of $27.05. The company has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a PE ratio of -0.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.18 and a 200 day moving average of $12.01. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The firm had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.07%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -9.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.88.

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.