FNY Investment Advisers LLC Takes Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 29,638 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 2,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.01 per share, for a total transaction of $9,163,160.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WBA opened at $11.39 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $11.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.69. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.08 and a 52-week high of $16.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.11, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $38.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.90 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WBA. Wolfe Research raised Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen began coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Profile

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.