Avaii Wealth Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Avaii Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,260 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 2,044 shares during the period. Avaii Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Choreo LLC raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 224.7% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 46,724 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after buying an additional 32,336 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth $332,000. Blue Chip Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth $116,000. Vance Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 283.0% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 242,800 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $6,340,000 after purchasing an additional 179,400 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBA has been the subject of several analyst reports. TheStreet upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. 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 report on Monday, April 1st. SVB Leerink dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.36.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $18.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.49 and a 1-year high of $35.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.93 and its 200 day moving average is $21.72.

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company 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.