Greenleaf Trust Boosts Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 30.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,788 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,898 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 29,409 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,170,347 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $48,269,000 after purchasing an additional 576,534 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 129,191 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,873,000 after acquiring an additional 28,400 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,444,686 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,130,000 after acquiring an additional 47,071 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,927,656,000 after acquiring an additional 10,962,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $18.05 on Wednesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.51 and a fifty-two week high of $35.54. The firm has a market cap of $15.57 billion, a PE ratio of -2.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,992.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 13,456 shares of company stock valued at $270,423. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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.