Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock Holdings Lessened by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. cut its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,487 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 2,938 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 116.3% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,216 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 177,399 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $4,632,000 after purchasing an additional 6,810 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 469,612 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $12,262,000 after purchasing an additional 129,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 72,610 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 15,500 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on WBA shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, SVB Leerink dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ WBA traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,123,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,086,121. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.51 and a 1-year high of $36.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.40 billion, a PE ratio of -2.52, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 13,456 shares of company stock valued at $270,423. 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.