Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 38.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 199,547 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 123,437 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Financial Corp IN increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8,670.3% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,208 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

NASDAQ WBA opened at $10.51 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.08 and a fifty-two week high of $22.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.65.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. The company had revenue of $39.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

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.