Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 3,772 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,001,844 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 3,772 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $9,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter valued at about $109,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 31.0% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 572,192 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $5,127,000 after purchasing an additional 135,343 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.6% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 127,776 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 3,203 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,258,919 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,200,000 after buying an additional 80,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $160,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. 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 note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com began coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $11.17 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of -1.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.93. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.08 and a 1-year high of $21.74.

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

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.