Alberta Investment Management Corp Buys 300,000 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,557,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $14,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Financial Corp IN grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8,670.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.19.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

WBA stock opened at $11.06 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.70. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.08 and a 52-week high of $22.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.87% and a positive return on equity of 17.61%. The business had revenue of $39.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

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.