Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 51.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,472 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,790 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Financial Corp IN grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 2,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on WBA shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America upped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial reduced 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ WBA opened at $10.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.67. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.08 and a 52-week high of $18.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.13.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.10. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. The business had revenue of $38.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

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.