Groupe la Francaise Takes Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. $WBA

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise has acquired 30,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance valued at approximately $335,000 in the first quarter of 2023.
• Other institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Walgreens, with notable increases in holdings by Colonial Trust Co SC and Federated Hermes Inc..
• Walgreens Boots Alliance reported a quarterly EPS of $0.38, beating analyst expectations of $0.34, with a revenue of $38.99 billion during the quarter, reflecting a 7.2% year-over-year increase.

Groupe la Francaise purchased 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 30,000 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth $368,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 87,428 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.2% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,924 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the first quarter worth $1,199,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 42,332 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA stock remained flat at $11.98 during midday trading on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $11.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.26. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $13.25.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $38.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.