Polianta Ltd Invests $1.22 Million in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Polianta Ltd acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 109,200 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,219,000. Walgreens Boots Alliance makes up 0.6% of Polianta Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,084 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 3,685 shares during the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 338,779 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $3,161,000 after purchasing an additional 40,570 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 131.2% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 321,880 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 182,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Secured Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth $99,000. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina acquired 832,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.01 per share, with a total value of $9,163,160.58. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WBA traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,884,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,847,684. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.08 and a 12-month high of $16.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50 day moving average is $11.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.65.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.10. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. The business had revenue of $38.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on WBA shares. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Four equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.