179,198 Shares in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Acquired by Deane Retirement Strategies Inc.

Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 179,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $4,679,000. Walgreens Boots Alliance makes up 2.6% of Deane Retirement Strategies Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 63,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,842,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.0% in the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 35,461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.7% in the second quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC now owns 20,759 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.2% during the third quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 10,982 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 114,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WBA. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 price target (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBA traded up $0.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $21.31. The stock had a trading volume of 19,168,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,694,910. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.29. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $19.68 and a one year high of $36.58. The stock has a market cap of $18.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 0.40%. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue 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.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is 151.52%.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CEO Timothy C. Wentworth purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.22 per share, with a total value of $242,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 585,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,171,654.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett purchased 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,992.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy C. Wentworth acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.22 per share, for a total transaction of $242,200.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 585,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,171,654.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.