KBC Group NV Sells 7,667 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

KBC Group NV trimmed its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,104 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,667 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 436,849 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $5,284,000 after buying an additional 8,973 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 31.6% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 132,456 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 31,772 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 364,734 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $4,411,000 after purchasing an additional 15,270 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $313,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the second quarter valued at $958,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WBA. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.19.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $10.28 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.12 and a 200-day moving average of $9.85. The company has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of -1.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.08 and a 1-year high of $23.76.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.61% and a negative net margin of 5.87%. The company had revenue of $39.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share 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.