875,082 Shares in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. $WBA Purchased by AQR Arbitrage LLC

Key Points

• AQR Arbitrage LLC has invested approximately $9.78 million in Walgreens Boots Alliance by purchasing 875,082 shares, representing about 0.10% of the company.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance reported better-than-expected earnings, with an EPS of $0.38 surpassing analysts' estimates, and revenues of $38.99 billion for the quarter, a 7.2% increase year-over-year.
• Multiple large investors increased their positions in Walgreens Boots Alliance, with 58.59% of the company's stock currently held by institutional investors.

AQR Arbitrage LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 875,082 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $9,775,000. AQR Arbitrage LLC owned 0.10% of Walgreens Boots Alliance at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at $198,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth $368,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,823,924 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $17,016,000 after buying an additional 272,895 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 67.8% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 112,248 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,021,000 after buying an additional 45,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth $7,500,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $10.15.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

NASDAQ WBA remained flat at $11.98 during mid-day trading on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.80. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $13.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.32.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. The business 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 was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast 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.