Aviva PLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

Aviva PLC lessened its holdings in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED – Get Rating) by 34.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,440 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Medifast were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MED. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Medifast by 4.5% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,488 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Medifast by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Medifast by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,655 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Medifast by 16.8% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 757 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its holdings in shares of Medifast by 1.1% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 10,253 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,797,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 86.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MED has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Medifast from $94.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Medifast in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Medifast Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MED opened at $89.97 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $979.77 million, a P/E ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 1.24. Medifast, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.52 and a 52 week high of $192.44.

Medifast (NYSE:MED – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $1.27. Medifast had a return on equity of 106.70% and a net margin of 9.27%. The company had revenue of $349.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $319.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Medifast, Inc. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Medifast Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $1.65 per share. This represents a $6.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Medifast’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. Medifast’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 754 shares of Medifast stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $89.74 per share, with a total value of $67,663.96. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 37,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,382,749.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Medifast news, Director Scott Schlackman sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.68, for a total transaction of $239,096.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,280 shares in the company, valued at $791,190.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 754 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $89.74 per share, for a total transaction of $67,663.96. Following the purchase, the director now owns 37,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,382,749.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Medifast Profile

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Medifast, Inc engages in the provision of healthy living products and programs. It offers the OPTAVIA brand, a lifestyle solution centered on developing new healthy habits through smaller, foundational changes called micro-habits. The firm’s product line includes bars, bites, pretzels, puffs, cereal crunch, drinks, hearty choices, oatmeal, pancakes, pudding, soft serve, shakes, smoothies, soft bakes, and soups.