Voloridge Investment Management LLC Buys New Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,664,918 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $15,534,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned 0.19% of Walgreens Boots Alliance at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,118 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,165 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 12,591 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WBA shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Four investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of WBA stock traded up $0.04 on Tuesday, hitting $11.21. 10,568,635 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,914,508. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.02 and a 200 day moving average of $10.44. The stock has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.77. 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 12 month low of $8.08 and a 12 month high of $16.34.

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 (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina purchased 832,258 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Sunday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,288,079.79. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

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.