418,331 Shares in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Acquired by Alpine Associates Management Inc.

Key Points

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Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 418,331 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,673,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,572,567 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $303,902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,631,332 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,779,254 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $194,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,587 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,896,742 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $83,007,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407,973 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,972,514 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $74,384,000 after acquiring an additional 378,039 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 7,740,100 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $72,215,000 after acquiring an additional 5,036,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBA opened at $11.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.60, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.08 and a 1 year high of $13.25.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $38.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.72 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.07% and a positive return on equity of 17.66%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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.

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