Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 613,847 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,519,845 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 613,847 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.76% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $170,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 114,506 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $2,547,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 107,071 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,796,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 9,640 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 11,866 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 3,524 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA stock traded down $0.06 on Friday, reaching $17.19. The company had a trading volume of 8,733,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,219,773. The company's fifty day moving average is $19.27 and its 200 day moving average is $21.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.48, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.12 and a 1 year high of $32.89.

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.82%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's payout ratio is presently -14.29%.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, HSBC reissued a "reduce" rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.36.

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.