SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 87,743 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 57.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,313 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 87,743 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,927,656,000 after purchasing an additional 10,962,030 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 66,949,919 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,907,403,000 after buying an additional 3,543,790 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,026,420 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $378,668,000 after buying an additional 3,013,807 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $279,876,000 after buying an additional 1,720,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $311,053,000 after buying an additional 8,315,989 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CEO Timothy C. Wentworth acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.22 per share, for a total transaction of $242,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 585,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,171,654.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy C. Wentworth acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.22 per share, with a total value of $242,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 585,122 shares in the company, valued at $14,171,654.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $21.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.28. The company has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.86, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.73. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.68 and a 12-month high of $36.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 0.40% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 151.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. SVB Leerink decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. TheStreet upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.00.

Walgreens Boots Alliance 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.