Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Bought by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 239,801 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 28,170 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.6% during the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,500 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 28,389 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 43,226 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 49,896 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 12,591 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, April 27th. The shares were purchased 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 owned 145,621,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed 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 note on Thursday, June 26th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.52. 6,159,961 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,355,308. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $11.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.95. The company has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.58, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.78. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $38.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.