HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Lowers Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC cut its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 72,711 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 8,988 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter valued at approximately $109,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 572,192 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $5,127,000 after buying an additional 135,343 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,258,919 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $29,200,000 after buying an additional 80,525 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter valued at $160,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 82.5% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 40,268 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 18,199 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of WBA opened at $11.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.95. The firm has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a PE ratio of -1.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.08 and a 1-year high of $19.62.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $39.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.40 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WBA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.