Stevens Capital Management LP Raises Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Stevens Capital Management LP boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,875 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,947 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,927,656,000 after purchasing an additional 10,962,030 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,026,420 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $378,668,000 after buying an additional 3,013,807 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $279,876,000 after buying an additional 1,720,228 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,985.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 889,546 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $23,226,000 after purchasing an additional 846,884 shares during the period. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 85.1% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,752,170 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $38,968,000 after purchasing an additional 805,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

WBA traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.70. 6,586,367 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,817,973. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.49 and a 1 year high of $35.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.81.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. The company 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%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group decreased 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 research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TheStreet raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

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.