Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Stake Increased by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 186.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,740,100 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 5,036,300 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.90% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $72,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WBA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,241,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,572,567 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $303,902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,631,332 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 101.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,595,507 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $42,876,000 after buying an additional 2,311,806 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 2,279,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,155,138 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $122,737,000 after buying an additional 2,185,950 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $11.25 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.08 and a 1 year high of $18.17. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $11.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of -1.10, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.77.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.10. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. The business had revenue of $38.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WBA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Four 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Stefano Pessina acquired 832,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Sunday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.01 per share, with a total value of $9,163,160.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,603,288,079.79. This represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 17.50% of the stock is owned by company 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.

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