Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile (NASDAQ:WBA)

Walgreens Boots Alliance trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "WBA."

Walgreens Boots Alliance announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share on Tuesday, September 12th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. This is an increase from Walgreens Boots Alliance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. View Walgreens Boots Alliance's Dividend History.

Walgreens Boots Alliance announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 30th 2017, which permits the company to buyback $5,000,000,000.00 in shares, according to EventVestor. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July, 6th. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks' consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.04. The firm earned $29.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.93 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 17.34%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. View Walgreens Boots Alliance's Earnings History.

Walgreens Boots Alliance is scheduled to release their next quarterly earnings announcement on Wednesday, October, 25th 2017. View Earnings Estimates for Walgreens Boots Alliance.

19 equities research analysts have issued 12 month price objectives for Walgreens Boots Alliance's shares. Their forecasts range from $72.00 to $100.00. On average, they expect Walgreens Boots Alliance's stock price to reach $88.81 in the next year. View Analyst Ratings for Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Here are some recent quotes from research analysts about Walgreens Boots Alliance stock:

• 1. According to Zacks Investment Research, "Walgreens faces tough competitive landscapes along with currency fluctuations. Also, slowdown in generic introduction continues to weigh upon the company’s margins. However, over the last year, Walgreens has been trading above the broader industry. The company finally gaining approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the modified deal involving purchase of a number of Rite Aid (RAD) store buoys optimism. Although investors did not show much optimism regarding the company’s purchase of fewer-than-expected stores, we believe the deal’s financial outcome is pretty attractive. Moreover, this modified merger contract is expected to extend Walgreens’ growth strategy and offer additional operational benefits. We are also upbeat about Walgreens’ ‘Next Chapter plan’ through fiscal 2017 focusing on a multi-faceted cost-reduction initiative across the enterprise." (10/17/2017)
• 2. Pivotal Research analysts commented, "We believe that the asset based transaction with Rite Aid is much more beneficial for Walgreens Boots Alliance compared to the amended merger agreement from January 2017. Our quick read thru is that WBA is paying around $2.5 million per store compared to more than $4.1 million under the proposed transaction which would have included the divestiture of up to 1200 stores to Fred’s. Management appears to have a high level of confidence that it understands what is required from an FTC perspective and that the third attempt to consummate a deal with Rite Aid will pass regulatory scrutiny. The newly authorized share buyback program of $5 billion is also a significant positive for investors. The scaled down version transaction with Rite Aid will allow Walgreen to shrink the count at an accelerated rate through FY18. That said, we expect that core earnings will continue to be pressured. Quality of earnings was lacking of 3Q17, with a $0.07-$0.08 per share benefit from a lower than expected tax rate. Additionally, FIFO gross margin was down by 150 bps in the latest quarter on continued reimbursement pressures." (7/2/2017)
• 3. Jefferies Group LLC analysts commented, "We believe that today’s announcement of the proposed divestiture of 865 RAD stores to FRED for $950MM in cash should be sufficient to appease regulatory competition concerns and eliminate concerns about WBA’s ability to close the RAD deal." (12/21/2016)

Walgreens Boots Alliance saw a increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 29th, there was short interest totalling 21,631,489 shares, an increase of 9.0% from the September 15th total of 19,846,113 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,371,016 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company's stock are short sold.

Some companies that are related to Walgreens Boots Alliance include McDonald's Corporation (MCD), Inditex (IDEXY), The Priceline Group (PCLN), Starbucks Corporation (SBUX), CVS Health Corporation (CVS), Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), Lowe's Companies (LOW), Kering Unspon (PPRUY), TJX Companies, Inc. (The) (TJX), Hennes & Mauritz AB (HNNMY), eBay (EBAY), Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB de CV (WMMVY), Target Corporation (TGT), Compass Group PLC (CMPGY), Yum! Brands (YUM), Ctrip.com International (CTRP), Ross Stores (ROST) and Expedia (EXPE).

Walgreens Boots Alliance's stock is owned by a variety of of retail and institutional investors. Top institutional shareholders include APG Asset Management N.V. (0.23%), PGGM Investments (0.09%), State Treasurer State of Michigan (0.03%), Alta Capital Management LLC (0.02%), Mutual of America Capital Management LLC (0.02%) and Monarch Capital Management Inc. (0.01%). Company insiders that own Walgreens Boots Alliance stock include Barry Rosenstein, George Rollo Fairweather, Janice M Babiak, John Anthony Lederer, Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, Ornella Barra, Stefano Pessina and William C Foote. View Institutional Ownership Trends for Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Walgreens Boots Alliance's stock was sold by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including APG Asset Management N.V., Park National Corp OH, Wendell David Associates Inc., Bridges Investment Counsel Inc., Shikiar Asset Management Inc., Private Asset Management Inc., Monarch Capital Management Inc. and Bath Savings Trust Co. Company insiders that have sold Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in the last year include Kathleen Wilson-Thompson and William C Foote. View Insider Buying and Selling for Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Walgreens Boots Alliance's stock was acquired by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including PGGM Investments, Oakbrook Investments LLC, Carnick & Kubik Group LLC, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC, Assenagon Asset Management S.A., Hefty Wealth Partners, Rockefeller Financial Services Inc. and Alta Capital Management LLC. Company insiders that have bought Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in the last two years include Janice M Babiak, John Anthony Lederer, Ornella Barra and Stefano Pessina. View Insider Buying and Selling for Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages include Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Scottrade, Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

One share of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock can currently be purchased for approximately $68.06.