Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock Position Raised by Uncommon Cents Investing LLC

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,783 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 878 shares during the quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 63,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 35,461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Syntax Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC now owns 20,759 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 10,982 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 114,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,547,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on WBA shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. SVB Leerink dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 15,209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $350,567.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 15,209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $350,567.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $21.69 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.68 and a 1 year high of $36.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.71 billion, a PE ratio of 32.86, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a net margin of 0.40% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 151.52%.

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.