Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 217,492 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 157.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 356,014 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 217,492 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $9,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Lynch Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 165,726 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $4,327,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the period. Greylin Investment Management Inc increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Greylin Investment Management Inc now owns 425,226 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $11,103,000 after buying an additional 87,660 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $552,000. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBA has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. SVB Leerink decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and set a $20.00 price objective (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ WBA traded down $0.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $17.65. 10,499,732 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,522,849. The firm has a market cap of $15.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $20.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.53 and a fifty-two week high of $36.14.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 15,209 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total value of $350,567.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 15,209 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total transaction of $350,567.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 13,456 shares of company stock valued at $270,423. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.