Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 199.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,463 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 44,231 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at $58,241,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 186.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 7,740,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $72,215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,036,300 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter worth about $38,457,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,572,567 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $303,902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,631,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 101.2% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,595,507 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $42,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,806 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBA opened at $11.51 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $13.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of -1.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $11.34 and its 200 day moving average is $10.99.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $38.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.72 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.66% and a negative net margin of 4.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Stefano Pessina acquired 832,258 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. The trade was 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 this hyperlink. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.