11,388 Shares in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Bought by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 107,071 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,796,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 9,640 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 11,866 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 6,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 3,524 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 6.3 %

Shares of WBA opened at $16.11 on Thursday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.62 and a 1-year high of $32.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.92 and a 200 day moving average of $20.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.30, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.78. 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 (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.21%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.29%.

Insider Activity

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan purchased 6,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. SVB Leerink lowered 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 research report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.57.

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.