Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. $WBA Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 20.7%, selling 233,063 shares, leaving them with 890,605 shares valued at approximately $9.94 million.
• Several institutional investors have either bought or increased their positions in Walgreens Boots Alliance, with over 58.59% of the company's stock now held by such entities.
• Despite a positive quarterly earnings report with revenue of $38.99 billion, Walgreens Boots Alliance has received mixed analyst ratings, with an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $10.15.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 890,605 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 233,063 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned 0.10% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $9,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WBA. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $368,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,823,924 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $17,016,000 after purchasing an additional 272,895 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 112,248 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 45,367 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $100,000. Finally, Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $481,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WBA. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $10.15.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of WBA stock opened at $11.98 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of -1.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $13.25.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $38.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WBA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.