Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys New Holdings in Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. $GRDN

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group initiated a position in Guardian Pharmacy Services by purchasing 30,389 shares worth approximately $1.14 million in the first quarter.
• Several major institutions also increased their holdings, including Valiant Capital, Wellington Management, Franklin Resources, Vanguard and Boston Partners, signaling continued institutional interest in GRDN.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $42.83. Guardian recently exceeded quarterly estimates, reporting $0.29 in EPS and $336.6 million in revenue, though the stock was trading down 4.3% and opened at $39.43.

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 30,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,144,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GRDN. Valiant Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Valiant Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,232,463 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,085,000 after buying an additional 167,741 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,143,729 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000,000 after acquiring an additional 36,072 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,056,240 shares of the company's stock worth $27,705,000 after acquiring an additional 80,033 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,055,102 shares of the company's stock worth $27,675,000 after acquiring an additional 88,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,054,636 shares of the company's stock worth $31,995,000 after acquiring an additional 7,759 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GRDN shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Guardian Pharmacy Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.83.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of NYSE GRDN opened at $39.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.05. Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.30 and a 1-year high of $44.00. The business's 50 day moving average is $40.72 and its 200-day moving average is $36.71.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.05. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a return on equity of 30.72% and a net margin of 3.64%.The business had revenue of $336.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

About Guardian Pharmacy Services

Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc, a pharmacy service company, provides a suite of technology-enabled services designed to help residents of long-term health care facilities (LTCFs) in the United States. Its individualized clinical, drug dispensing, and administration capabilities are used to serve the needs of residents in lower acuity LTCFs, such as assisted living facilities and behavioral health facilities and group homes. The company's Guardian Compass includes dashboards created using data from its data warehouse to help its local pharmacies plan, track, and optimize their business operations; and GuardianShield Programs for LTCFs.

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