Wright Investors Service Inc. Lowers Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Wright Investors Service Inc. cut its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 36.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,086 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 26,107 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 116.3% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,216 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 177,399 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $4,632,000 after buying an additional 6,810 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 469,612 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $12,262,000 after buying an additional 129,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 72,610 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,896,000 after buying an additional 15,500 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 13,456 shares of company stock worth $270,423. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America decreased 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 report on Tuesday, March 26th. TheStreet raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. SVB Leerink reduced their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ WBA traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $17.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,945,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,182,358. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.60 and its 200-day moving average is $21.98. The company has a market cap of $15.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.52, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.52 and a 52 week high of $36.14. 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 (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

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.