Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,528 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 8,624 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 114,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,547,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 107,071 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,796,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 9,640 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 2,333 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 11,866 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on WBA shares. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought 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. In the last three months, insiders have bought 13,456 shares of company stock worth $270,423. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

WBA opened at $17.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.77. The stock has a market cap of $15.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.49 and a 1 year high of $35.38.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion for 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 was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -14.29%.

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.