Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED - Free Report) by 327.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,761 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 49,605 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.59% of Medifast worth $4,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Medifast by 30,800.0% in the 2nd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 309 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in shares of Medifast during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Medifast by 223.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 531 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in Medifast in the 2nd quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Medifast by 114.6% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 648 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. 95.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Schlackman sold 4,053 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.44, for a total transaction of $159,850.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $307,040.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MED has been the topic of several research reports. TheStreet downgraded shares of Medifast from a "c" rating to a "d+" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Medifast from $67.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st.

Medifast Trading Up 2.1 %

MED traded up $0.79 during trading on Thursday, hitting $38.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 355,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,106. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.15. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $45.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.60. Medifast, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.09 and a twelve month high of $109.52.

Medifast (NYSE:MED - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $191.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $184.17 million. Medifast had a return on equity of 56.06% and a net margin of 9.27%. The business's revenue was down 43.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Medifast, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Medifast

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.