Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Purchases 5,012 Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 79,212 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,012 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $2,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,592 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 343,445 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 506,107 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $13,214,000 after purchasing an additional 92,637 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at about $122,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,336 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WBA. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. SVB Leerink reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, TheStreet raised Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.36.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA stock opened at $17.60 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.81. The stock has a market cap of $15.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.73. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.51 and a 1 year high of $35.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,992.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett bought 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares in the company, valued at $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Manmohan Mahajan bought 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.38 per share, for a total transaction of $116,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 166,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,235,859.22. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 13,456 shares of company stock worth $270,423. 17.40% of the stock is currently 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.