Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Trims Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. $WBA

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. decreased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.1%, now owning 66,210 shares worth approximately $740,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Colonial Trust Co SC and Federated Hermes Inc., have increased their positions in Walgreens Boots Alliance, indicating renewed interest in the stock.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance reported $0.38 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, and experienced a 7.2% growth in revenue compared to the same period last year.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. decreased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 28.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,210 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 25,887 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 44,104 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.6% in the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,500 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.6% in the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 17,682 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.0% in the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 39,978 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,837 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research 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 initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $10.15.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA remained flat at $11.98 during trading on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.08 and a 1 year high of $13.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of -1.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $11.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.32.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations 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 last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.