Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.38 EPS

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38, Briefing.com reports. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 0.40%. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Walgreens Boots Alliance updated its FY24 guidance to $3.20-3.35 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 3.200-3.350 EPS.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of WBA traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $21.69. The stock had a trading volume of 32,844,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,950,183. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.71 billion, a PE ratio of 32.86, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.73. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 12 month low of $19.68 and a 12 month high of $36.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company's 50-day moving average is $21.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.28.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Walgreens Boots Alliance's payout ratio is 151.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett purchased 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 15,209 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $350,567.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at $99,992.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 63,406,129 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,192,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,885 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,974,220 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $447,357,000 after buying an additional 1,155,331 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 84,503.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,325,830 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $311,053,000 after buying an additional 8,315,989 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,356,393 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $192,076,000 after acquiring an additional 710,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 7.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,132,750 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $229,794,000 after purchasing an additional 358,403 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays began coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. SVB Leerink dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC reiterated a "reduce" rating and issued a $20.00 price target (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.00.

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.