Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) has been assigned a $80.00 target price by equities research analysts at SunTrust Banks in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock. SunTrust Banks’ price objective points to a potential upside of 9.22% from the stock’s current price.
A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday, October 6th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 10th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $90.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $95.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $86.89.
Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) opened at $73.25 on Thursday. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1-year low of $63.82 and a 1-year high of $88.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $71,493.78, a P/E ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.22.
Walgreens Boots Alliance declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the pharmacy operator to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
In related news, Director William C. Foote sold 2,736 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.37, for a total transaction of $184,324.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,878.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Anthony Lederer acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $67.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,340,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,350,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 14.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBA. Hudock Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% during the second quarter. Hudock Capital Group LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.4% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,325 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 983.3% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation now owns 1,365 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 1,239 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 46.3% during the second quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 2,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter worth $135,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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).
