Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $3.12 Million Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 334,030 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 24,427 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $3,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Financial Corp IN grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA traded down $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $11.25. The stock had a trading volume of 568,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,965,900. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.08 and a 1-year high of $18.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.38.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Stefano Pessina acquired 832,258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, April 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,288,079.79. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WBA. StockNews.com began coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.59.

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.