Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Invests $7.39 Million in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 283,004 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $7,389,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,927,656,000 after purchasing an additional 10,962,030 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,026,420 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $378,668,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,807 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $279,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,228 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,905,998 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $131,349,000 after purchasing an additional 212,161 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,077,336 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $80,349,000 after buying an additional 339,143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. SVB Leerink reduced their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $17.81. 7,528,623 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,049,602. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $19.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a PE ratio of -2.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $17.25 and a one year high of $32.89.

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance's payout ratio is presently -14.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.