Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 654 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,889 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 654 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,927,656,000 after purchasing an additional 10,962,030 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,026,420 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $378,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013,807 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $279,876,000 after buying an additional 1,720,228 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,905,998 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $131,349,000 after buying an additional 212,161 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,077,336 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $80,349,000 after acquiring an additional 339,143 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBA traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $17.33. 2,183,348 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,290,076. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.53. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.22 and a 52 week high of $32.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS 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 company had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBA has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $20.00 price target (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. 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. Bank of America lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.36.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

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

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.