Royce & Associates LP Reduces Stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. $GRDN

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP cut its stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 82,015 shares and ending with 186,122 shares valued at about $5.6 million.
• The company posted better-than-expected Q1 results, reporting EPS of $0.29 versus the $0.24 estimate and revenue of $336.6 million versus $329.9 million expected, with revenue up 2.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain constructive overall, with seven Buy ratings and two Hold ratings, giving GRDN a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.33.

Royce & Associates LP lowered its holdings in Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN - Free Report) by 30.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,122 shares of the company's stock after selling 82,015 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.29% of Guardian Pharmacy Services worth $5,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GRDN. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $233,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 1,783.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,895 shares of the company's stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 14,104 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 121.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 16,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 8,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $214,000.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services stock opened at $39.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 46.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.09. The business's 50-day moving average price is $37.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.26. Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.17 and a 12 month high of $41.36.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kendall Forbes sold 346,672 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $10,289,224.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 453,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,452,638.08. This represents a 43.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William E. Bindley sold 3,570,677 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total value of $105,977,693.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,469,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $132,649,298.88. The trade was a 44.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,726,405 shares of company stock worth $288,679,700. 32.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GRDN. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America began coverage on Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research cut Guardian Pharmacy Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Guardian Pharmacy Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Guardian Pharmacy Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.33.

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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