Kiltearn Partners LLP Reduces Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Kiltearn Partners LLP reduced its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 15.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 897,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 162,400 shares during the quarter. Walgreens Boots Alliance makes up about 1.1% of Kiltearn Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Kiltearn Partners LLP’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $8,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 76.6% during the 3rd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 440,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,947,000 after acquiring an additional 190,996 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 340,431 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after buying an additional 64,586 shares in the last quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT now owns 1,041,440 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,331,000 after acquiring an additional 124,950 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 322,984 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,019,000 after buying an additional 56,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the second quarter worth about $1,215,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 3.6 %

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $8.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.08 and a one year high of $27.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.39.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. The company had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued 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 presently -9.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WBA. UBS Group raised their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America decreased 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 report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.88.

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.