Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,683,147 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 35,512 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $24,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA stock opened at $8.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.90. The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.85, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.68. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.22 and a 1 year high of $27.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.75 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.88.

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.