Capital World Investors Sells 1,675,764 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Capital World Investors trimmed its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,946,930 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 1,675,764 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned approximately 0.23% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $18,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBA. First Financial Corp IN lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 2,874 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBA traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $11.01. 6,349,910 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,972,641. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.95 and a 200 day moving average of $10.19. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $18.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.10. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. The business had revenue of $38.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Saturday, April 19th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.59.

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.