Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Purchased by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

Posted by Max Byerly on Mar 19th, 2023

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Rating) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,086 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WBA. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 53,374,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,675,950,000 after buying an additional 3,095,684 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 179.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,910,000 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $85,511,000 after buying an additional 1,227,700 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter valued at about $38,288,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,081.6% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,150,794 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $36,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,574,698 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,964,845,000 after purchasing an additional 818,403 shares in the last quarter. 56.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of WBA stock opened at $32.91 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.39 and a 1-year high of $48.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 5th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.01. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 2.24% and a positive return on equity of 13.57%. The business had revenue of $33.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 16th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 15th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -55.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. Cowen raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 22nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to $40.00 in a research report on Monday, November 28th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.43.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc engages in the provision of healthcare and retail pharmacy services. It operates through the following segments: United States Retail Pharmacy, International, and United States Healthcare. The US Retail Pharmacy segment includes the operation of retail drugstores, health and wellness services, specialty and home delivery pharmacy services, and equity method investment.