Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 7,693 Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,693 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,927,656,000 after purchasing an additional 10,962,030 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 63,406,129 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,192,584,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,885 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,026,420 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $378,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013,807 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $279,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 84,503.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,325,830 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $311,053,000 after acquiring an additional 8,315,989 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 0.2 %

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $19.16 on Tuesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.49 and a twelve month high of $36.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.15. The company has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.73. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, 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 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 15,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $350,567.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 15,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total transaction of $350,567.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

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.