International Assets Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

International Assets Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 85.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,663 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 96,280 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at $58,241,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake 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 worth $72,215,000 after acquiring an additional 5,036,300 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,572,567 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $303,902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,631,332 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 101.2% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,595,507 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $42,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,806 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,335,084 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $805,506,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279,495 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the chairman owned 145,621,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 17.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $11.48. 2,907,754 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,796,949. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.08 and a one year high of $13.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $11.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.85.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WBA. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.59.

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.