Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) has been assigned a $73.00 price objective by equities research analysts at Pivotal Research in a note issued to investors on Friday. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock. Pivotal Research’s target price points to a potential upside of 0.11% from the stock’s current price.
Several other research firms have also issued reports on WBA. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, September 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Saturday, September 16th. BidaskClub lowered shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. Jefferies Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, September 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $86.05.
Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ WBA) opened at $72.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.96. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1 year low of $63.82 and a 1 year high of $88.00. The stock has a market cap of $72,239.59, a PE ratio of 13.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22.
Walgreens Boots Alliance announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the pharmacy operator to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
In related news, Director John Anthony Lederer acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,340,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,350,000. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William C. Foote sold 2,736 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.37, for a total transaction of $184,324.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,105,878.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 14.80% of the company’s stock.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,985,653 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $5,480,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,926,108 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 24.7% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,502,701 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,448,939,000 after purchasing an additional 3,662,302 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.0% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 10,182,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $786,284,000 after purchasing an additional 96,552 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,641,826 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $512,893,000 after purchasing an additional 735,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CI Global Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.8% during the second quarter. CI Global Investments Inc. now owns 5,931,592 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $464,503,000 after purchasing an additional 270,182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.
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About Walgreens Boots Alliance
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc (Walgreens Boots Alliance) is a holding company. The Company is a global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. Walgreens Boots Alliance operates through three divisions, including Retail Pharmacy USA, Retail Pharmacy International and Pharmaceutical Wholesale. The Company’s products are marketed under a number of brands, which include No7, the Botanics range, Almus (generic medicines), Boots Pharmaceuticals and Soap & Glory (bathing and beauty brand).
