Merit Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 34,927 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,969,188 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $98,284,000 after buying an additional 3,329,857 shares during the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 76.6% during the 3rd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 440,483 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $3,947,000 after acquiring an additional 190,996 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 340,431 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,050,000 after acquiring an additional 64,586 shares in the last quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT now owns 1,041,440 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $9,331,000 after purchasing an additional 124,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 139,377 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 63,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.87. 12,988,398 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,595,734. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.08 and a one year high of $23.76. The company has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of -1.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $39.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.40 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.87% and a positive return on equity of 17.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.27.

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.