Synovus Financial Corp Decreases Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Synovus Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,965 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,342 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WBA. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 87.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8,670.3% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,208 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 3.6 %

WBA opened at $9.35 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.08 and a 52 week high of $27.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.59. The firm has a market cap of $8.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.66.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.70%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company 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.