Intact Investment Management Inc. Buys 179,400 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 283.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 242,800 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 179,400 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $6,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WBA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 86,675,198 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,927,656,000 after purchasing an additional 10,962,030 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,026,420 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $378,668,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,807 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,584,371 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $279,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,228 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,985.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 889,546 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $23,226,000 after purchasing an additional 846,884 shares during the period. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,752,170 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $38,968,000 after purchasing an additional 805,332 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WBA shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, April 1st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC reaffirmed 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

WBA traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,592,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,083,050. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.49 and a 52 week high of $35.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.01 and its 200-day moving average is $21.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $15.27 billion, a PE ratio of -2.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

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

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.