Citigroup Inc. Raises Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 43.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,951,015 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 589,221 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $21,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,580,827 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $162,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425,689 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in 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 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 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 Walgreens Boots Alliance by 23.5% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,567,154 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $84,525,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441,780 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA opened at $11.87 on Wednesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.08 and a 12-month high of $13.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.10. The company has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.80.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $38.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WBA. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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