Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 654 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Welch & Forbes LLC cut its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,889 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 654 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 308.4% during 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 period. Highlander Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,280.0% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.33. 2,183,348 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,290,076. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.22 and a 52 week high of $32.89.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors 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 yield of 5.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, April 1st. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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.