Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Acquired by STF Management LP

STF Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 75.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,103 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,337 shares during the period. STF Management LP’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 84,503.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,325,830 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $311,053,000 after purchasing an additional 8,315,989 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 39.4% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,702,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $300,946,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459,416 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,159,800 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $155,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,800 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,974,220 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $447,357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,331 shares during the period. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 51.1% in the first quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 3,307,927 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $114,388,000 after buying an additional 1,118,671 shares in the last quarter. 57.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

NASDAQ WBA traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $25.60. 2,319,680 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,773,267. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.97 and a 52-week high of $42.29. The company has a market capitalization of $22.10 billion, a PE ratio of -6.65, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.12 and its 200-day moving average is $32.02.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.07). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 2.44% and a positive return on equity of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $35.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 21st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 18th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.50%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -50.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $38.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Credit Suisse Group cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Friday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, EVP John Patrick Driscoll bought 5,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.42 per share, for a total transaction of $146,988.24. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,678,201. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc operates as a pharmacy-led health and beauty retail company. It operates through two segments, the United States and International. The United States segment sells prescription drugs and an assortment of retail products, including health, wellness, beauty, personal care, consumable, and general merchandise products through its retail drugstores.