Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. $WBA Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.2%, selling 458,920 shares, and now owns 0.98% of the company, valued at $94.25 million.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance reported $0.38 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.34, with a revenue of $38.99 billion.
• The stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" from analysts, with an average target price set at $10.59.

Northern Trust Corp cut its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,437,822 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 458,920 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.98% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $94,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,580,827 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $162,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425,689 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $74,384,000 after purchasing an additional 378,039 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 186.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 7,740,100 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $72,215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,036,300 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 23.5% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,567,154 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $84,525,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441,780 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,645,380 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $63,059,000 after purchasing an additional 212,997 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 1.0%

WBA stock opened at $12.07 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.08 and a fifty-two week high of $13.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $11.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.18. The stock has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a PE ratio of -1.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.80.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.07% and a positive return on equity of 17.66%. The business had revenue of $38.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WBA. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $10.59.

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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