LSV Asset Management Sells 551,800 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 22.9%, selling 551,800 shares, leaving it with approximately 1.86 million shares valued at $20.75 million.
• Two Sigma Advisers LP significantly increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 186.3%, now owning about 7.74 million shares valued at $72.22 million.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance reported earnings of $0.38 per share, exceeding expectations and generating revenue of $38.99 billion, indicating a 7.2% increase compared to the previous year.

LSV Asset Management trimmed its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 22.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,857,936 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 551,800 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.21% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $20,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WBA. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position 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 valued at $72,215,000 after acquiring an additional 5,036,300 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,457,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,572,567 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $303,902,000 after acquiring an additional 2,631,332 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 101.2% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,595,507 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $42,876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $19,760,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WBA. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $11.64 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.80. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.08 and a one year high of $13.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.10.

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

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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.

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