Empirical Finance LLC Has $296,000 Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,529 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,756 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WBA. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ WBA opened at $11.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of -1.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.08 and a 1 year high of $13.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.40 and its 200-day moving average is $11.13.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $38.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.72 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.07% and a positive return on equity of 17.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS 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.