Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,345 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 22,556 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $4,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.5% in the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 29,409 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,170,347 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $48,269,000 after acquiring an additional 576,534 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 129,191 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,873,000 after purchasing an additional 28,400 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 115,196 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,444,686 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $32,130,000 after purchasing an additional 47,071 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $17.26. The stock had a trading volume of 11,438,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,469,857. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.24 and a fifty-two week high of $32.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $14.89 billion, a PE ratio of -2.54, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. SVB Leerink lowered their target price on 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. TheStreet upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.