LPL Financial LLC Sells 1,376 Shares of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

LPL Financial LLC reduced its position in shares of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,907 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,376 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.10% of Medifast worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new position in shares of Medifast in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Medifast by 114.6% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 648 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in Medifast by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 733 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medifast during the first quarter worth $430,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Medifast by 76.6% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 869 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. 87.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Medifast Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MED opened at $66.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $724.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.25 and a 200-day moving average of $83.38. Medifast, Inc. has a one year low of $61.94 and a one year high of $131.42.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 6th. The specialty retailer reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $1.10. Medifast had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 76.08%. The firm had revenue of $235.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Medifast, Inc. will post 9.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Medifast Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 19th were given a dividend of $1.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 18th. This represents a $6.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.93%. Medifast’s payout ratio is currently 60.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MED shares. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Medifast from $93.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered Medifast from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Medifast in a research report on Friday, October 13th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Constance J. Hallquist sold 5,613 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.87, for a total value of $414,632.31. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,968.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Medifast Profile

Medifast, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes weight loss, weight management, healthy living products, and other consumable health and nutritional products in the United States and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers bars, bites, pretzels, puffs, cereal crunch, drinks, hearty choices, oatmeal, pancakes, pudding, soft serves, shakes, smoothies, soft bakes, and soups under the OPTAVIA, Optimal Health by Take Shape for Life, and Flavors of Home brands.