New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 321,709 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 22,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $3,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 51,209 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 27,524 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 3,085 shares during the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $99,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 131.2% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 321,880 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 182,644 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.54.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $10.69 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.08 and a 12-month high of $22.05. The company has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.65. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $10.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.72.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $39.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.40 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.87% and a positive return on equity of 17.61%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.