Quantbot Technologies LP Buys New Shares in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 513,393 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $4,790,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.06% of Walgreens Boots Alliance at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 18.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,997,580 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $385,258,000 after acquiring an additional 6,569,223 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 43.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,969,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $98,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329,857 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter worth about $24,226,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,455,720 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $41,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,839,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth about $9,685,000. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBA opened at $11.23 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.08 and a 1-year high of $22.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.76. The company has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of -1.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.54.

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.