Avenir Corp Trims Position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Avenir Corp cut its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 359,272 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 56,379 shares during the period. Walgreens Boots Alliance accounts for 0.8% of Avenir Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Avenir Corp’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $9,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highlander Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 282.1% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,219 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WBA. Bank of America dropped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. HSBC restated a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 price target (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. SVB Leerink decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.57.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBA traded down $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.93. The company had a trading volume of 7,045,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,139,816. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.66. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.62 and a 12 month high of $32.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.78.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -14.29%.

Insider Transactions at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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 available at the SEC website. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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 available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

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.