Sivik Global Healthcare LLC Takes $2.35 Million Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Sivik Global Healthcare LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 90,000 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,350,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 114,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,547,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 107,071 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,796,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Insight Folios Inc raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 9,640 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 11,866 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 3,524 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of WBA stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.73. 8,249,794 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,664,933. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.68. The company has a market cap of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.73. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.49 and a 1-year high of $35.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.64%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -14.29%.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WBA shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.