G&S Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

G&S Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,148 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,294 shares during the period. G&S Capital LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBA. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 107,071 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,796,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Insight Folios Inc increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 525 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.8% during the first quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 31,593 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 560 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $15.66 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.36. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.62 and a 52-week high of $31.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.78.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is -14.29%.

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.