Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 91,216 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 52.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,020 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 91,216 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WBA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at $58,241,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 186.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 7,740,100 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $72,215,000 after acquiring an additional 5,036,300 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% in the fourth 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. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 101.2% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,595,507 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $42,876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,806 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,279,495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued 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 price target of $10.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman owned 145,621,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBA traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $11.48. The company had a trading volume of 6,656,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,806,154. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.86. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.08 and a fifty-two week high of $13.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.78.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $38.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.72 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.66% and a negative net margin of 4.07%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities 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.