Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 3.80% and a positive return on equity of 16.39%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $11.31 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.78. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1-year low of $8.08 and a 1-year high of $15.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, Chairman Stefano Pessina purchased 832,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance stock. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 18,947 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.59.

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.

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