Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 1,020,587 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,779,254 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 1,020,587 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.40% of Walgreens Boots Alliance worth $194,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WBA. First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8,670.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,208 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company's stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

NASDAQ:WBA traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.78. The company had a trading volume of 12,267,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,990,767. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $10.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.07. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.08 and a 52-week high of $18.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a PE ratio of -1.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Friday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America raised 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Four investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.