Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 20%, owning 844,168 shares worth approximately $9.4 million, as reported in its most recent SEC filing.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance reported $0.38 earnings per share in its latest quarterly results, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.34 despite a year-over-year decline from $0.63 EPS.
• Analysts currently rate Walgreens Boots Alliance with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $10.59, with multiple firms issuing varied ratings, including four "sell" and two "buy" recommendations.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 20.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 844,168 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 140,824 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $9,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WBA. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $368,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 87,428 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 4,926 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 3,064 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter valued at $1,199,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 42,332 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WBA. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WBA stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,993,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,766,003. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a PE ratio of -1.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $11.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.10. 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $38.99 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS 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.