Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stock Holdings in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,720 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,480 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.24% of Medifast worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MED. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Medifast by 1,161.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,766 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 8,992 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Medifast by 2,308.8% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,442 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,967 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Medifast by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the period. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of Medifast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $374,000. Finally, Commons Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Medifast by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Commons Capital LLC now owns 38,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 10,563 shares during the period. 95.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Medifast from $17.00 to $16.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Medifast Stock Performance

Shares of Medifast stock opened at $11.93 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.50 million, a P/E ratio of 66.28 and a beta of 1.05. Medifast, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.88 and a 52-week high of $36.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.36.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.26. The company had revenue of $119.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.25 million. Medifast had a net margin of 0.35% and a return on equity of 10.64%. Equities research analysts forecast that Medifast, Inc. will post 0.51 EPS 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.