XTX Topco Ltd Purchases 264,754 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 382.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 333,969 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 264,754 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the second quarter worth about $1,210,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,394 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 1,342 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,570 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 2,562 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 16,582 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 2,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 136,450 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 10,510 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $8.56 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.08 and a 12-month high of $27.05. 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 (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.68%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WBA. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.58.

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.