California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 41,695 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,282,026 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 41,695 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.15% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $33,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 13,456 shares of company stock worth $270,423 over the last three months. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of WBA opened at $17.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a PE ratio of -2.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.49 and a 1-year high of $35.38. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.77.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WBA. SVB Leerink cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. TheStreet raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

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.