Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Purchased by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 36.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,088 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 26,739 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,335,084 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $805,506,000 after buying an additional 2,279,495 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,631,332 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,779,254 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $194,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,587 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,155,138 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $122,737,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,896,742 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $83,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407,973 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, Chairman Stefano Pessina acquired 832,258 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Sunday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 145,621,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 17.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA stock remained flat at $11.49 on Wednesday. 6,025,611 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,808,804. The stock has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.78. The company's fifty day moving average price is $11.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.08 and a 12-month high of $13.25.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.66% and a negative net margin of 4.07%. The business had revenue of $38.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.