Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Decreases Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC cut its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 15.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,392 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 13,717 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 2,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBA opened at $11.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.08 and a 1-year high of $16.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $11.16 and its 200 day moving average is $10.75.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $38.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.90 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 16.39% and a negative net margin of 3.80%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Sunday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.01 per share, with a total value of $9,163,160.58. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 145,621,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,288,079.79. This represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. 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 note on Friday, February 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.59.

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.