Macquarie Group Ltd. Sells 95,583 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Macquarie Group Ltd. decreased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Rating) by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 82,125 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 95,583 shares during the quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 20,511 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 24,189 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 63,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Veriti Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Veriti Management LLC now owns 14,807 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 14,781 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.71% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $33.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.39 and a fifty-two week high of $48.97.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 5th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $33.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.04 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 2.24% and a positive return on equity of 13.57%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.77%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -55.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to $40.00 in a research report on Monday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.43.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc engages in the provision of healthcare and retail pharmacy services. It operates through the following segments: United States Retail Pharmacy, International, and United States Healthcare. The US Retail Pharmacy segment includes the operation of retail drugstores, health and wellness services, specialty and home delivery pharmacy services, and equity method investment.