Hsbc Holdings PLC Decreases Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. $WBA

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 34.1%, owning 1,395,255 shares after selling 721,053 shares in the first quarter.
• Charle Schwab Investment Management increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.8%, now holding 14,580,827 shares valued at approximately $162.87 million.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance reported a 7.2% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, reaching $38.99 billion, with earnings per share of $0.38 compared to analysts' estimates of $0.34.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 34.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,395,255 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 721,053 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.16% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $15,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,580,827 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $162,868,000 after buying an additional 1,425,689 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $83,007,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407,973 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.0% during 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 valued at $74,384,000 after acquiring an additional 378,039 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position 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 valued at $72,215,000 after acquiring an additional 5,036,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 1.0%

WBA opened at $12.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a PE ratio of -1.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 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 one year low of $8.08 and a one year high of $13.25. The business's 50 day moving average price is $11.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.18.

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. 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 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on WBA shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.