Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 246.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 194,710 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 138,525 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $5,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 114,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 107,071 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,796,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 9,640 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 2,333 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 11,866 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WBA. Barclays began coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

WBA opened at $17.81 on Thursday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.51 and a 12-month high of $35.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a PE ratio of -2.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.84.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at $99,992.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Valerie B. Jarrett purchased 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 13,456 shares of company stock valued at $270,423 in the last three months. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.