Hsbc Holdings PLC Takes $566,000 Position in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED – Get Rating) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,150 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $566,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MED. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Medifast by 3.4% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund grew its stake in shares of Medifast by 1.2% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 8,334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Medifast by 16.8% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 757 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its stake in shares of Medifast by 1.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 86.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medifast Trading Down 0.8 %

MED stock opened at $111.85 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $114.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 1.16. Medifast, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.00 and a 1-year high of $197.19.

Medifast Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 20th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 19th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.86%. Medifast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Medifast from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Medifast from $106.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $116.11 per share, for a total transaction of $66,298.81. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 37,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,297,695.54. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

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.