Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $1.72 Million Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,127 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,251 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Riverview Trust Co grew 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina purchased 832,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.01 per share, with a total value of $9,163,160.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 0.6%

WBA stock opened at $11.38 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.82. 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 $13.25. The stock has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.78.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 16.39% and a negative net margin of 3.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WBA. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance 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.