Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) Increases Dividend to $1.65 Per Share

Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 16th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of 1.65 per share by the specialty retailer on Tuesday, May 9th. This represents a $6.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 27th. This is a boost from Medifast’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64.

Medifast has raised its dividend by an average of 24.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Medifast has a payout ratio of 56.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Medifast to earn $11.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.3%.

Medifast Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MED opened at $102.75 on Friday. Medifast has a 52-week low of $96.00 and a 52-week high of $197.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $112.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MED has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Medifast in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Medifast from $106.00 to $94.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other Medifast news, Director Scott Schlackman sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.68, for a total value of $239,096.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,280 shares in the company, valued at $791,190.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Scott Schlackman sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.68, for a total transaction of $239,096.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $791,190.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown bought 571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $116.11 per share, for a total transaction of $66,298.81. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 37,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,297,695.54. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MED. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in shares of Medifast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Medifast by 79.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 733 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Medifast by 76.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 869 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Medifast in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. 86.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Medifast

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Medifast, Inc engages in the provision of healthy living products and programs. It offers the OPTAVIA brand, a lifestyle solution centered on developing new healthy habits through smaller, foundational changes called micro-habits. The firm’s product line includes bars, bites, pretzels, puffs, cereal crunch, drinks, hearty choices, oatmeal, pancakes, pudding, soft serve, shakes, smoothies, soft bakes, and soups.