Ballentine Partners LLC Buys 12,296 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 67.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,580 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,296 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth approximately $312,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,685,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 17,095 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,596 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 38,828 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 5,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 40,629 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 15,414 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the purchase, the chairman directly owned 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA stock opened at $11.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.58, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.78. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.08 and a fifty-two week high of $13.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.34 and a 200-day moving average of $10.99.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $38.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.72 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.66% and a negative net margin of 4.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WBA shares. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.