M&T Bank Corp Buys 28,170 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 239,801 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 28,170 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank Hapoalim BM acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter worth $570,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter worth $147,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,924 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,064 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,645,380 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $63,059,000 after acquiring an additional 212,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock remained flat at $11.51 during trading on Tuesday. 4,080,233 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,250,389. The company has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $11.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.60. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.08 and a 12-month high of $13.25.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $38.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Stefano Pessina purchased 832,258 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Sunday, April 27th. The stock was bought 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 directly owned 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WBA shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.