New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 6,638 Shares of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,399 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,638 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Medifast were worth $1,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Medifast by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 522,732 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,138,000 after purchasing an additional 201,752 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Medifast by 2.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 194,369 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $14,549,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Medifast by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 166,210 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $12,441,000 after buying an additional 30,329 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Medifast by 110.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 129,650 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,704,000 after buying an additional 67,951 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Medifast by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 121,671 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,107,000 after acquiring an additional 19,192 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

Medifast Stock Performance

Shares of Medifast stock opened at $25.72 on Friday. Medifast, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.58 and a 52 week high of $109.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.30 million, a PE ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MED shares. TheStreet lowered shares of Medifast from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Medifast from $40.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th.

Insider Activity

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

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.