First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Purchases 15,084 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 92.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,488 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,084 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WBA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,927,656,000 after acquiring an additional 10,962,030 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,026,420 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $378,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013,807 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $279,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,228 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,985.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 889,546 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $23,226,000 after purchasing an additional 846,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,752,170 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $38,968,000 after buying an additional 805,332 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $20.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of WBA opened at $17.81 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.25 and a 52 week high of $32.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.62. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

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.