Corton Capital Inc. Raises Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Key Points

• Corton Capital Inc. increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 133.0% in Q1, making it the fund's 2nd largest position valued at approximately $423,000.
• Institutional investors own 58.59% of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock, with notable stakes increased by Vanguard Group, Invesco, and Northern Trust during the fourth quarter.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance reported a revenue of $38.99 billion for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with an EPS of $0.38, beating estimates by $0.04.

Corton Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 133.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,903 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 21,637 shares during the quarter. Walgreens Boots Alliance comprises 1.4% of Corton Capital Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Corton Capital Inc.'s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,335,084 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $805,506,000 after buying an additional 2,279,495 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $129,000. Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 292,227 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $2,726,000 after buying an additional 49,300 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 184,745 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 23,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 41,986 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 9,952 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

NASDAQ:WBA traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $11.66. The stock had a trading volume of 2,711,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,210,166. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.08 and a one year high of $13.25.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $38.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.72 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.07% and a positive return on equity of 17.66%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.59.

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.