Global Assets Advisory LLC Makes New $339,000 Investment in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,632 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 268.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 184,722 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $4,108,000 after acquiring an additional 134,587 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 75,776 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after buying an additional 21,352 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 23,072 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 7,132 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 323,817 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 106.5% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 49,720 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 25,637 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. 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. Finally, SVB Leerink cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.07.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

WBA stock opened at $12.19 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.68 and a twelve month high of $31.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $16.72 and its 200-day moving average is $20.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced 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 business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company 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.