Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Purchased by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 42.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 348,130 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 103,857 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $3,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $805,506,000 after acquiring an additional 2,279,495 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,572,567 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $303,902,000 after acquiring an additional 2,631,332 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,779,254 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $194,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,587 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,155,138 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $122,737,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,896,742 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $83,007,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407,973 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina purchased 832,258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.01 per share, with a total value of $9,163,160.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WBA opened at $11.45 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $11.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a PE ratio of -1.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.78. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.08 and a 52-week high of $13.25.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $38.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.72 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.07% and a positive return on equity of 16.39%. The company's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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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