Ieq Capital LLC Acquires 250,326 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. $WBA

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 552.6%, holding 295,624 shares worth approximately $3.3 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Two Sigma Advisers LP and National Bank of Canada FI, significantly raised their stakes in Walgreens Boots Alliance, indicating increasing confidence in the company.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance reported an EPS of $0.38 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, alongside a revenue of $38.99 billion.

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 552.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 295,624 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 250,326 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $3,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth approximately $198,000. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth about $368,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,823,924 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $17,016,000 after acquiring an additional 272,895 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,040,785 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $9,712,000 after acquiring an additional 21,533 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 18.8% during the 4th 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. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on WBA shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $10.15.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock remained flat at $11.98 during mid-day trading on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.08 and a 12 month high of $13.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $11.74 and a 200-day moving average of $11.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization 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.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $38.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.72 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.07% and a positive return on equity of 17.66%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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.