Disciplined Equity Management Inc. Buys 3,430 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Disciplined Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,653 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Walgreens Boots Alliance makes up approximately 0.9% of Disciplined Equity Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Disciplined Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WBA. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,389 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 48,065 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 5,687 shares during the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 79,212 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,068,000 after acquiring an additional 5,012 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,592 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 343,445 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at $99,992.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were 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 owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 13,456 shares of company stock valued at $270,423. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA traded down $0.24 on Wednesday, hitting $17.81. 10,258,674 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,984,583. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.51 and a 52 week high of $35.54. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.84. The company has a market cap of $15.36 billion, a PE ratio of -2.54, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, SVB Leerink dropped their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has an average 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.