Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 246.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 194,710 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 138,525 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $5,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Management Corp VA lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 416,223 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $10,868,000 after buying an additional 194,640 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 16,843 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 70.9% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 301,955 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $7,884,000 after purchasing an additional 125,232 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 16,788 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 3,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $149,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Monday, April 1st. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $17.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $15.36 billion, a PE ratio of -2.54, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $20.19 and its 200 day moving average is $21.84. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.51 and a 52 week high of $35.54. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the purchase, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 13,456 shares of company stock worth $270,423. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.