IFM Investors Pty Ltd Increases Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 19.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 151,527 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 24,890 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $312,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 60.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 59,672 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 22,455 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 213,082 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,988,000 after acquiring an additional 2,855 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,685,000. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 109,734 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 7,247 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 assumed coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Sunday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman owned 145,621,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,603,288,079.79. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

NASDAQ WBA traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $11.52. 6,159,961 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,363,923. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.08 and a 12 month high of $13.25. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.95. The stock has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a PE ratio of -1.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.78.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.07% and a positive return on equity of 17.66%. The business had revenue of $38.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current 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.