Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys 50,919 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 391,684.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,932 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,919 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,494 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 1,893 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth about $333,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth about $297,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 280,545 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,325,000 after purchasing an additional 78,523 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 373.3% in the 1st quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 112,398 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,438,000 after purchasing an additional 88,650 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBA opened at $9.21 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $10.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.10. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.46 and a 1 year high of $27.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.05). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 3.99% and a positive return on equity of 12.63%. The firm had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.86%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WBA. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.73.

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.