Two Sigma Investments LP Grows Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 101.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,595,507 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 2,311,806 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned about 0.53% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $42,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WBA. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 2,874 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WBA. Wolfe Research raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $11.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.10, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $11.02 and a 200 day moving average of $10.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.08 and a 1-year high of $17.81.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $38.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.90 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.87% and a positive return on equity of 17.61%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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