Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $4.24 Million Stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 162,345 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 22,556 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $4,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,190,975 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $31,728,000 after purchasing an additional 430,760 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at about $261,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth about $7,389,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 248,154 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $6,479,000 after buying an additional 63,432 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WBA shares. Leerink Partnrs reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on 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. SVB Leerink decreased their target price 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, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 3.1 %

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $17.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,438,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,469,857. 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 $17.24 and a 12 month high of $32.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.58. The company has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.80.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.11% and a negative net margin of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is presently -14.29%.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, CFO Manmohan Mahajan acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.38 per share, with a total value of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,235,859.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 acquired 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 directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.