16,914 Shares in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) Bought by RIA Advisory Group LLC

RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,914 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,137,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Medifast as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Medifast by 4.5% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,488 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Medifast by 3.4% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Medifast by 16.8% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 757 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in 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 valued at $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Medifast by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 4,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $497,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet cut Medifast from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. DA Davidson cut their target price on Medifast from $67.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st.

Medifast Price Performance

MED traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $32.44. The company had a trading volume of 288,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,055. Medifast, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.95 and a 52-week high of $109.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.47 million, a P/E ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.10. Medifast had a net margin of 9.27% and a return on equity of 56.06%. The business had revenue of $191.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.17 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.70 earnings per share. Medifast’s quarterly revenue was down 43.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Medifast, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medifast Profile

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.