Wealthquest Corp Acquires Shares of 3,442,846 Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,442,846 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $38,457,000. Walgreens Boots Alliance accounts for about 3.7% of Wealthquest Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Wealthquest Corp owned about 0.40% of Walgreens Boots Alliance at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 51,209 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 305.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 36,930 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 54,901 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 45,298 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 33,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,020 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 7,214 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $11.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,709,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,645,373. The company has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $11.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.80. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.08 and a one year high of $13.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.61.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 3.80% and a positive return on equity of 16.39%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WBA. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.59.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Stefano Pessina purchased 832,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

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.