Lincoln National Corp Boosts Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Lincoln National Corp grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 55,761 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,726 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the period. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,280.0% during the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,380 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned 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 price target of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.7 %

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $17.23 on Thursday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.21 and a 1-year high of $32.89. 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 stock has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a PE ratio of -2.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.53.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.80%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

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.