Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 112,000 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,924,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WBA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 308.4% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2,314.5% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating and set a $20.00 price target (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TheStreet raised Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.64. 8,546,435 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,441,903. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.22 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 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 one year low of $17.53 and a one year high of $36.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at $99,992.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett purchased 4,456 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan purchased 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 13,456 shares of company stock worth $270,423 in the last quarter. Insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

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.