Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 111.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,037 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 68,933 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,241,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 7,740,100 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $72,215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,036,300 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter worth $38,457,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% in 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 period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 101.2% in 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 buying an additional 2,311,806 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, Chairman Stefano Pessina purchased 832,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Sunday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the acquisition, the chairman directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.48. 6,656,769 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,703,479. 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's 50 day moving average is $11.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.87. The company has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.78. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.08 and a 1 year high of $13.25.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WBA. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.