Parthenon LLC Purchases 1,542 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Parthenon LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,785 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,542 shares during the period. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highlander Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 308.4% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the period. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.73. The company had a trading volume of 8,249,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,664,933. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.49 and a 1-year high of $35.36. The company has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.64%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is -14.29%.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. SVB Leerink cut their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.36.

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.