Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Has $3.59 Million Stock Holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 28.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 384,320 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,320 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $3,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 595,828 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $5,559,000 after purchasing an additional 185,762 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 18,922 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 9,294 shares during the last quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth about $322,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth about $184,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 507,213 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $4,732,000 after buying an additional 23,373 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 note on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.27.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $11.25 on Thursday. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.08 and a 12-month high of $23.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.59 EPS 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.