Clearstead Trust LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Clearstead Trust LLC lowered its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,150 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 705 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WBA. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 7.0% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 261,815 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $5,823,000 after acquiring an additional 17,188 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 108,964 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,423,000 after buying an additional 12,428 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2,314.5% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 11.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 715,032 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $15,902,000 after buying an additional 76,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the third quarter worth about $374,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of WBA traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.81. 7,528,623 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,049,602. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.25 and a 12 month high of $32.89. The company has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.58. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently -14.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan purchased 6,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WBA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price 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. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America dropped 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. Finally, SVB Leerink lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

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.