OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Lowers Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lowered its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 31.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,068 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 2,750 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $158,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 104.6% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 36,922 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 18,879 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 20,791 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $931,000 after acquiring an additional 4,931 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 27.9% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,569 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 63,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 467,533 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $20,932,000 after acquiring an additional 58,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WBA shares. HSBC reissued a “reduce” rating and issued a $20.00 price target (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 stock was bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 13,456 shares of company stock valued at $270,423 over the last three months. Insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $17.59 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a PE ratio of -2.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.73. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.51 and a 52-week high of $36.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.95.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.