Rakuten Securities Inc. Has $113,000 Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Rakuten Securities Inc. reduced its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 97.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,103 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 452,898 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.'s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,500 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 23,815 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 28,389 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,186 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBA traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $11.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,457,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,749,296. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.08 and a 52 week high of $16.25. The firm has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $11.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.10. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 16.39% and a negative net margin of 3.80%. The company 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 earned $1.20 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WBA. Wolfe Research upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

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

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.