Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) Position Decreased by American International Group Inc.

American International Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,774 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Medifast worth $532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Medifast by 136.4% during the 2nd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,259 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,188 shares in the last quarter. Rowland & Co. Investment Counsel ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Medifast by 11.5% in the second quarter. Rowland & Co. Investment Counsel ADV now owns 5,837 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Medifast in the second quarter worth about $240,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Medifast by 2.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 190,364 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $17,544,000 after buying an additional 4,629 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medifast by 2,402.7% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 926 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 889 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Medifast Stock Performance

MED stock opened at $66.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market cap of $724.08 million, a P/E ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.38. Medifast, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.94 and a 52 week high of $131.42.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 6th. The specialty retailer reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $235.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.10 million. Medifast had a net margin of 9.84% and a return on equity of 76.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.32 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Medifast, Inc. will post 9.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medifast Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Constance J. Hallquist sold 5,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.87, for a total transaction of $414,632.31. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,152 shares in the company, valued at $158,968.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Medifast

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.