Cwm LLC Boosts Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 118.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,932 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 55,831 shares during the quarter. CWM LLC's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.7% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 343,209 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 67.3% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 30,580 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 12,296 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.0% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 274,702 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,068,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 38.9% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 185,319 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,070,000 after acquiring an additional 51,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 199.0% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,463 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 44,231 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $11.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,081,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,200,614. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.08 and a 52 week high of $13.25. The stock has a market cap of $10.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.08.

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

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina purchased 832,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, April 27th. The shares were acquired 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 owned 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.