Quadrature Capital Ltd Makes New $837,000 Investment in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 32,054 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $837,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highlander Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WBA. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America dropped their price target on 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, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.57.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $15.87 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.62 and a 12 month high of $32.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $13.69 billion, a PE ratio of -2.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.50.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is presently -14.29%.

Insider Activity

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan purchased 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.