Rakuten Securities Inc. Sells 452,898 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lowered its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 97.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,084 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 3,685 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 27,524 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 3,085 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 51,209 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 4,876 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 1,557,100 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $14,528,000 after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Sunday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This trade 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 at this link. 17.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WBA stock opened at $11.39 on Wednesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.08 and a fifty-two week high of $16.25. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $11.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a PE ratio of -1.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.78.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $38.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.90 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 16.39% and a negative net margin of 3.80%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.59.

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.

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