Integrated Advisors Network LLC Buys 43,532 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 236.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,919 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 43,532 shares during the quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WBA. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 2,874 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Four 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina acquired 832,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Sunday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.01 per share, with a total value of $9,163,160.58. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA traded up $0.06 on Friday, hitting $11.29. 69,211,159 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,013,277. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.08 and a one year high of $16.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.10, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50 day moving average price is $11.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.50.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $38.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.90 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. Research analysts expect 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.