Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 38.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 185,319 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 51,872 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,335,084 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $805,506,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279,495 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,572,567 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $303,902,000 after buying an additional 2,631,332 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,020,587 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 18.8% during 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. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,972,514 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $74,384,000 after acquiring an additional 378,039 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WBA shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Insider Activity

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Chairman Stefano Pessina purchased 832,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Sunday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.01 per share, with a total value 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock traded up $0.06 on Thursday, reaching $11.59. 6,081,585 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,200,614. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $11.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.59, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.78. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month 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.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $38.99 billion during 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 17.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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.