Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 129,361 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 38.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 469,612 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 129,361 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.05% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $12,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WBA. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 104.6% during the first 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 period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 31.1% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 20,791 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $931,000 after acquiring an additional 4,931 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 27.9% in the first 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.2% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 467,533 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $20,932,000 after acquiring an additional 58,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at $99,992.64. 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 quarter. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $18.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.74 billion, a PE ratio of -2.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.93. 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 $17.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.14.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WBA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays started coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.36.

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.