Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 90.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,630 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 251,727 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Highlander Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during 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 during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 308.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 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. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 17.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on 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. Leerink Partnrs restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ WBA traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.47. 12,076,734 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,109,368. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.35, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.31 and a 1 year high of $32.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.23.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share 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 given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance's payout ratio is currently -14.29%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.