Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Cuts Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lessened its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 64.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,455 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 20,703 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 114,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 107,071 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,796,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 9,640 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 11,866 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 3,524 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WBA shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $20.00 target price (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $17.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.35 and a 200-day moving average of $21.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $14.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.13 and a twelve month high of $32.89.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 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 Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.80%. 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.