Qsemble Capital Management LP Raises Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Qsemble Capital Management LP increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 74.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,775 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 29,025 shares during the quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $607,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WBA. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter valued at $63,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 46.0% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 33,310 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 10,492 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 9,803 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 3,264 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $159,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 672,104 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $6,022,000 after acquiring an additional 288,657 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WBA. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA stock opened at $8.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.39. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.08 and a fifty-two week high of $27.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 11.45%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.99%.

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.