Wedmont Private Capital Invests $121,000 in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,191 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $121,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WBA. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 23,815 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 28,389 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 43,226 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 49,896 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBA opened at $11.36 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.08 and a fifty-two week high of $16.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $11.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a PE ratio of -1.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.78.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $38.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.90 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. The business’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Stefano Pessina purchased 832,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, April 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.01 per share, with a total value of $9,163,160.58. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,288,079.79. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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.