IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 7,049 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,807 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,049 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $3,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 65,051 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,411,000 after buying an additional 11,148 shares during the period. Insight Folios Inc boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 10,840 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 32,085 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 83.7% in the first quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. now owns 135,224 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,933,000 after purchasing an additional 61,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abundance Wealth Counselors grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 38.8% in the 1st quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 14,739 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,992.64. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 13,456 shares of company stock worth $270,423. 17.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:WBA traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.70. 6,592,036 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,083,050. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a one year low of $17.49 and a one year high of $35.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.77. The company has a market cap of $15.27 billion, a PE ratio of -2.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently -14.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and set a $20.00 price target (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.