ICA Group Wealth Management LLC Buys 1,371 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

ICA Group Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 33.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,505 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,371 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WBA. Piscataqua Savings Bank boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 156.4% during the first quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 736 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Private Ocean LLC grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 65.6% in the 1st quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 757 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 201.1% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 807 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 57.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of WBA stock opened at $21.99 on Monday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.92 and a fifty-two week high of $42.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.73, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.69.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by ($0.07). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.62% and a negative net margin of 2.44%. The firm had revenue of $35.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 21st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, EVP John Patrick Driscoll acquired 5,172 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction on Friday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.42 per share, for a total transaction of $146,988.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 59,050 shares in the company, valued at $1,678,201. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on WBA. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Friday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $46.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $38.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $36.00 to $29.00 in a report on Thursday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.23.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Profile

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc operates as a pharmacy-led health and beauty retail company. It operates through two segments, the United States and International. The United States segment sells prescription drugs and an assortment of retail products, including health, wellness, beauty, personal care, consumable, and general merchandise products through its retail drugstores.