Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 21,768 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 43.6%, selling 21,768 shares and holding 28,128 shares valued at approximately $314,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Invesco Ltd. and Northern Trust Corp, have increased their holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, collectively indicating a notable interest in the stock.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.38 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and indicating a 7.2% year-over-year revenue increase.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 43.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,128 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 21,768 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,572,567 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $303,902,000 after acquiring an additional 2,631,332 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 18.8% in the fourth 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 lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.0% in the fourth 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. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 186.3% in the fourth 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,125,374 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $57,150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,403,357 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA opened at $11.90 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $11.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.60. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.08 and a 52-week high of $13.25.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $38.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.72 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.66% and a negative net margin of 4.07%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.59.

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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