Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock Holdings Cut by Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 38.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,565 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 22,230 shares during the quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 124,250 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050 shares in the last quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 29,536 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. Richelieu Gestion SA boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Richelieu Gestion SA now owns 90,904 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,022,000 after acquiring an additional 13,096 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter worth $398,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 3,220 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. 57.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $26.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. HSBC initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Friday, December 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $31.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.17.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

NASDAQ WBA remained flat at $26.61 during trading on Wednesday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,056,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,585,301. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $19.68 and a one year high of $38.57. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $22.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $35.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.81 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 2.21% and a positive return on equity of 12.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 14th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 13th. Walgreens Boots Alliance's dividend payout ratio is currently -53.78%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance 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.

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