Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Sold by Clearstead Trust LLC

Clearstead Trust LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,150 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 705 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,927,656,000 after acquiring an additional 10,962,030 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,026,420 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $378,668,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,807 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $279,876,000 after buying an additional 1,720,228 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,905,998 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $131,349,000 after buying an additional 212,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,077,336 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $80,349,000 after acquiring an additional 339,143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WBA shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TheStreet upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ WBA traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.81. 7,528,623 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,049,602. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.58. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.25 and a fifty-two week high of $32.89. The stock has a market cap of $15.36 billion, a PE ratio of -2.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.29%.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. 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.