Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 3rd, 2023

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Rating) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,400 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $3,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 513,659 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $16,245,000 after acquiring an additional 61,456 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 16,447 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 2,642 shares during the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,000. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 187,700 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $5,894,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pflug Koory LLC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 19,346 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 1,138 shares during the last quarter. 56.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CEO Rosalind G. Brewer purchased 10,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.95 per share, for a total transaction of $339,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 369,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,559,632.75. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.46.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBA opened at $34.58 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.32. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.39 and a twelve month high of $48.48.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $34.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.56 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.42% and a negative net margin of 2.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.55%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -52.60%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Profile

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Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc engages in the provision of healthcare and retail pharmacy services. It operates through the following segments: United States Retail Pharmacy, International, and United States Healthcare. The US Retail Pharmacy segment includes the operation of retail drugstores, health and wellness services, specialty and home delivery pharmacy services, and equity method investment.