Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) Shares Acquired by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,399 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,638 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.20% of Medifast worth $1,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Medifast by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,628 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the period. Olympiad Research LP bought a new stake in shares of Medifast in the 3rd quarter worth $208,000. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medifast in the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Medifast by 18.9% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commons Capital LLC acquired a new position in Medifast during the third quarter worth about $314,000. 95.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Medifast Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE:MED opened at $25.72 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.19. Medifast, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.58 and a 1-year high of $109.52.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.12). Medifast had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 36.64%. The firm had revenue of $174.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Medifast’s quarterly revenue was down 49.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Medifast, Inc. will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of Medifast from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Medifast from $40.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Schlackman sold 4,053 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total value of $159,850.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $307,040.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.06% of the company’s stock.

About Medifast

Medifast, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of weight loss, weight management, and healthy living products in the United States and the Asia-Pacific. It offers bars, puffs, cereal, crunchers, drinks, hearty choices, oatmeal, pancakes, pudding, soft serve, shakes, smoothies, soft bakes, and soups under the OPTAVIA, OPTAVIA ACTIVE, and Optimal Health brand names.