Insider Buying: Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Director Purchases $54,150.00 in Stock

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA stock opened at $17.63 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.98. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.53 and a 12-month high of $36.14.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WBA. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $20.00 price objective (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBA. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 29,409 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,170,347 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $48,269,000 after buying an additional 576,534 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 129,191 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,873,000 after acquiring an additional 28,400 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,444,686 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $32,130,000 after acquiring an additional 47,071 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 10,962,030 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.