Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases Shares of 302,366 Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 302,366 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,821,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 23,815 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 28,389 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 43,226 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 49,896 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 12,591 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA remained flat at $11.25 during trading on Friday. 5,407,111 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,903,210. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.08 and a 12 month high of $16.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm's 50 day moving average is $11.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.57.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.