Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 73.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 79,108 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,629 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 322,984 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,019,000 after acquiring an additional 56,725 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 2nd quarter worth $1,215,000. Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 83.4% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 385,600 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,455,000 after purchasing an additional 175,400 shares during the last quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,252,000. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.8% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,038,878 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $24,660,000 after buying an additional 198,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $9.39 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $9.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.94, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.69. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.22 and a 1-year high of $27.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The company had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.88.

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.