Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 48,065 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,687 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $1,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter worth $398,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.7% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 905,638 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $20,141,000 after purchasing an additional 49,097 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.2% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 240,564 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $5,350,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.9% in the third quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 54,095 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 7.0% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 261,815 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $5,823,000 after purchasing an additional 17,188 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $17.34 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.65. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.25 and a 12-month high of $34.60. 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 data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.77%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is presently -14.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Monday, April 1st. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TheStreet raised Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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. 17.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company 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.