Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Raises Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 76,783 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the period. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 308.4% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2,314.5% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,280.0% in the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,380 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WBA. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $20.00 price objective (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of WBA stock opened at $21.69 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.68 and a twelve month high of $36.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 151.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy C. Wentworth bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.22 per share, for a total transaction of $242,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 585,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,171,654.84. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 15,209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total transaction of $350,567.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy C. Wentworth purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.22 per share, for a total transaction of $242,200.00. Following the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

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.