Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 19.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 140,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 34,800 shares during the period. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $11,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hudock Capital Group LLC raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the first quarter. Hudock Capital Group LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrust Arizona LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the first quarter. WealthTrust Arizona LLC now owns 5,243 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.9% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 3,216 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Truepoint Inc. raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the first quarter. Truepoint Inc. now owns 8,575 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the first quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 13,910 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 61.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ WBA) traded up 0.78% during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,216,763 shares. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.18 and a 52-week high of $89.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.28. The company has a market cap of $86.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 1.25. Walgreens Boots Alliance also was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 21,284 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 753% compared to the average daily volume of 2,495 call options.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 29th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $30.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.72 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a return on equity of 17.34% and a net margin of 3.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post $5.00 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. This is a positive change from Walgreens Boots Alliance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.30%.
Walgreens Boots Alliance declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, June 29th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the pharmacy operator to repurchase up to 5.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
WBA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Group LLC cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 31st. Zacks Investment Research lowered Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 14th. BidaskClub lowered Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 24th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $89.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.06.
In related news, Director William C. Foote sold 2,736 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.79, for a total value of $218,305.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,151 shares in the company, valued at $1,528,058.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 13.50% of the company’s stock.
About Walgreens Boots Alliance
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc (Walgreens Boots Alliance) is a holding company. The Company is a global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. Walgreens Boots Alliance operates through three divisions, including Retail Pharmacy USA, Retail Pharmacy International and Pharmaceutical Wholesale. The Company’s products are marketed under a number of brands, which include No7, the Botanics range, Almus (generic medicines), Boots Pharmaceuticals and Soap & Glory (bathing and beauty brand).
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