Fayez Sarofim & Co Reduces Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Fayez Sarofim & Co lessened its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,534 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 26,145 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Financial Corp IN boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its position 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.01. 6,349,910 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,083,041. The company has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company's 50 day moving average is $10.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.22. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.08 and a 1 year high of $18.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

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