Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) has been assigned a $87.00 price target by investment analysts at Mizuho in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.50% from the stock’s current price.
A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WBA. Morgan Stanley lowered Walgreens Boots Alliance from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, October 6th. BidaskClub upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 10th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 27th. Vetr upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $86.00.
Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) traded up $0.31 on Wednesday, reaching $77.33. The company had a trading volume of 4,030,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,750,000. The company has a market capitalization of $76,610.00, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 12 month low of $63.82 and a 12 month high of $88.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.96.
Walgreens Boots Alliance declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 25th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the pharmacy operator to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
In related news, Director John Anthony Lederer acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $67.00 per share, with a total value of $1,340,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,350,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William C. Foote sold 2,736 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.37, for a total value of $184,324.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,878.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 14.80% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in 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. boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 24.7% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 18,502,701 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,448,939,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662,302 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.0% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 10,182,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $786,284,000 after acquiring an additional 96,552 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,641,826 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $512,893,000 after acquiring an additional 735,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CI Global Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.8% in the second quarter. CI Global Investments Inc. now owns 5,931,592 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $464,503,000 after acquiring an additional 270,182 shares in the last quarter. 61.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile
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).
