5,703 Shares in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Acquired by RIA Advisory Group LLC

RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,703 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $149,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 29,409 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,170,347 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $48,269,000 after purchasing an additional 576,534 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 129,191 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,873,000 after purchasing an additional 28,400 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,444,686 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $32,130,000 after purchasing an additional 47,071 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,927,656,000 after purchasing an additional 10,962,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $18.24 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.51 and a 52-week high of $36.14. The company has a market capitalization of $15.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 13,456 shares of company stock worth $270,423. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 price target (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. SVB Leerink cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. TheStreet raised Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Four 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

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.