Monaco Asset Management SAM Increases Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Monaco Asset Management SAM increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 1,525.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 162,500 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 152,500 shares during the quarter. Walgreens Boots Alliance comprises approximately 1.2% of Monaco Asset Management SAM's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Monaco Asset Management SAM's holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $4,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth $144,000. Kessler Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 101.5% during the fourth quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC now owns 59,502 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,554,000 after purchasing an additional 29,966 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,519,845 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $170,233,000 after buying an additional 613,847 shares during the last quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 13,714 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 4,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 66,183 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,728,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 0.3 %

WBA traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.19. 8,742,861 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,579,410. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.83 billion, a PE ratio of -2.46, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.80. 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 52-week low of $17.12 and a 52-week high of $32.89.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The firm's revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on WBA. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Truist Financial reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.