Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $458,000 Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 54.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,126 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 58,568 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 2,874 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 35.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 4,585 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Chairman Stefano Pessina purchased 832,258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.01 per share, with a total value of $9,163,160.58. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,603,288,079.79. This represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

WBA traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $11.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 740,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,957,065. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company's 50-day moving average is $11.02 and its 200-day moving average is $10.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.08 and a 52 week high of $17.81. The firm has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a PE ratio of -1.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.77.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $38.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.90 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.87% and a positive return on equity of 17.61%. The company's revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com started coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.59.

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.