Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Raises Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,212 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,012 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WBA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 308.4% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2,314.5% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on WBA shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $20.00 price objective (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of WBA opened at $17.60 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.51 and a 1-year high of $35.38. The stock has a market cap of $15.18 billion, a PE ratio of -2.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly 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. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Valerie B. Jarrett purchased 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,992.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 13,456 shares of company stock valued at $270,423. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.