Rakuten Securities Inc. Has $4.32 Million Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 93.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 463,001 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 223,185 shares during the period. Walgreens Boots Alliance makes up 1.7% of Rakuten Securities Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $4,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBA. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 56.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,831 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 85.9% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,706 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 14,651 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,144 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,940,000 after buying an additional 24,974 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 73.9% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 79,108 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 33,629 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $11.21 on Wednesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $22.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.71 and its 200 day moving average is $9.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a PE ratio of -1.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $39.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.54.

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.