Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Raises Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 199.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,463 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 44,231 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WBA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at $58,241,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 186.3% in 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 acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter valued at $38,457,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% in 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. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 101.2% in 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. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,288,079.79. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.1%

WBA traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $11.51. 1,991,401 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,994,373. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company's fifty day moving average price is $11.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.99. 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 1.35 and a beta of 0.78. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.08 and a one year high of $13.25.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $38.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.72 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.66% and a negative net margin of 4.07%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current 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.