Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,823,924 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 272,895 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.21% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $17,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Financial Corp IN grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 2,874 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Sunday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 17.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,465,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,099,833. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.00 and a 200-day moving average of $10.29. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.08 and a 12 month high of $18.83.

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

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.