WBA will pay its dividend to shareholders on record as of August 20
Earlier this month, pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) declared a quarterly dividend of 47.75 cents per share, an increase of 2.1%. The increased dividend will be payable on September 10 to shareholders on record as of August 20. The increased dividend also raises WBA’s forward dividend from $1.87 per share to $1.91 per share, taking Walgreens' dividend yield up to 4.04%. Walgreens Boots Alliance and its predecessor has paid out dividends in 355 straight quarters, more than 88 years. WBA has also raised its dividend for 46 consecutive years.
Walgreens stock is up 18% in 2021, despite a 10% haircut in the last three months. The good news is that pullback has been caught by WBA's 320-day moving average, a trendline not breached on a closing basis since January.
For a stock with such a comfy year-to-date lead, its ripe for a shift in analyst attention. Of the 12 brokerages covering WBA, 10 rate it a "hold" or "sell."
Overall, Walgreens stock is a reasonably safe purchase in a largely uncertain market right now. WBA trades at relatively good price-earnings ratio of 17.70 and has a tidy forward price-earnings ratio of 9.43. In addition, Walgreens has consistently increased its revenues on a year-to-year basis, growing by 23.6% since fiscal 2017. The biggest downside for Walgreens has been the lack of consistency on the bottom-line. Nonetheless, WBA's long dividend history and high dividend yield provide an extra blanket of security, making Walgreens stock an intriguing option for value and dividend investors.