Will Walgreen’s Earnings Growth Make These Top Institutional Shareholders Happy?

On Tuesday,  Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) stated that its fiscal second-quarter net income saw an 11 percent increase, which was helped by an acquisition and business sale. The Deerfield company earned $756 million, or 79 cents per share, versus $683 million, or 78 cents per share, in the previous year’s fiscal second quarter. Sales were nearly flat at $18.6 billion due to a rise in average per-customer purchases that was offset by a decrease in total sales at established stores. The quarter’s results saw an increase due to the acquisition of European health and beauty retailer Alliance Boots Walgreen that was announced last year. The business contributed earnings of $85 million in the quarter, and Walgreen also reported a $20 million gain from a business sale.

These institutional firms indicated owning shares of Walgreen in Q4 2012. They reported owning a total of 616.02 million shares on 12/31/2012. The shares closed at $36.77 on 12/31/2012.

Here are the ten largest positions in Walgreen at the end of December 31, 2012.

Vanguard Group Inc held 45,553,194 shares on 12/31/2012 worth $1,685,923,633. This brought the portfolio total to 0.21 percent.

State Street Corp held 40,372,504 shares on 12/31/2012 worth $1,494,186,305. This brought the portfolio total to 0.22 percent.

Blackrock Institutional Trust Company N.A. held 23,098,344 shares on 12/31/2012 worth $854,869,673. This brought the portfolio total to 0.2 percent.

FMR LLC held 21,258,567 shares on 12/31/2012 worth $786,779,529. This brought the portfolio total to 0.14 percent.

Wellington Management Co LLP held 20,084,016 shares on 12/31/2012 worth $743,309,398. This brought the portfolio total to 0.05 percent.

Franklin Resources Inc held 19,252,886 shares on 12/31/2012 worth $712,549,279. This brought the portfolio total to 0.45 percent.

Northern Trust Corp held 12,908,934 shares on 12/31/2012 worth $477,759,626. This brought the portfolio total to 0.2 percent.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co /MA/ held 12,824,797 shares on 12/31/2012 worth $474,645,715. This brought the portfolio total to 0.38 percent.

Jpmorgan Chase & Co held 12,467,608 shares on 12/31/2012 worth $461,426,151. This brought the portfolio total to 0.16 percent.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp held 12,412,556 shares on 12/31/2012 worth $459,388,677. This brought the portfolio total to 0.16 percent.

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