Sivik Global Healthcare LLC Makes New Investment in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Sivik Global Healthcare LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 90,000 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,350,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 308.4% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of WBA traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.73. 8,249,794 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,664,933. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.49 and a 52-week 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.68. The company has a market cap of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.53, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.64%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WBA. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. SVB Leerink cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $20.00 target price (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.