Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,071 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,586 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 12,253 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,084 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,266 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Private Ocean LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 65.6% during the first quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 757 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 63,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WBA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $40.00 to $35.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. 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 lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Friday, July 14th. One investment 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Patrick Driscoll bought 5,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.42 per share, with a total value of $146,988.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 59,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,678,201. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ WBA traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $25.44. The stock had a trading volume of 2,153,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,760,470. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.98. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.97 and a 1-year high of $42.29. The company has a market capitalization of $21.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.67, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $35.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -50.00%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance 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.