Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $653,000 Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,017 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.5% during the 3rd 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 boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $279,876,000 after buying an additional 1,720,228 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,985.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 889,546 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $23,226,000 after acquiring an additional 846,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 85.1% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,752,170 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $38,968,000 after acquiring an additional 805,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $17.81 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.58. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.25 and a 1-year high of $32.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 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 Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -14.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. SVB Leerink lowered their target price on 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. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $20.00 price target (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

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.