Trust Investment Advisors Decreases Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Trust Investment Advisors trimmed its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,291 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 3,052 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 104.6% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 36,922 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 18,879 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 20,791 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 4,931 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,569 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 63,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 467,533 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $20,932,000 after acquiring an additional 58,184 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on WBA shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of 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. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and set a $20.00 target price (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 13,456 shares of company stock valued at $270,423 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $17.59. 6,713,018 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,249,123. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a PE ratio of -2.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.51 and a 52-week high of $36.14. 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 issued 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 negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current 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.