Diametric Capital LP Makes New Investment in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Diametric Capital LP purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,010 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $140,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 595,828 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $5,559,000 after buying an additional 185,762 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 139,377 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 63,149 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth $326,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,258,919 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,200,000 after purchasing an additional 80,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 67.0% in the third quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 210,179 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 84,303 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA stock opened at $11.18 on Thursday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.08 and a 1 year high of $19.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a PE ratio of -1.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $10.79 and its 200-day moving average is $9.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $39.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on WBA. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com began coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company 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.