E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,549 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 714 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 308.4% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,280.0% in the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,380 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,280 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WBA shares. SVB Leerink cut their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of 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 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBA opened at $17.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.13 and a twelve month high of $32.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.50. The firm has a market cap of $14.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.79%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.