BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 67,090 Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Free Report) by 730.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,270 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 67,090 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.13% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions worth $8,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,958,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,654,000 after buying an additional 1,868,117 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $91,536,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,578,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,842,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,370,336 shares of the company's stock worth $262,752,000 after purchasing an additional 532,644 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BFAM. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total transaction of $311,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,838,708.18. This trade represents a 9.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.36, for a total transaction of $125,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 31,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,942,446.64. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock worth $561,900 in the last three months. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of BFAM traded up $2.31 on Thursday, reaching $122.25. The stock had a trading volume of 574,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,247. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.59 and a 12-month high of $141.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.94 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.24.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.14. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $665.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $664.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Profile

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc provides early education and childcare, back-up care, educational advisory, and other workplace solutions services for employers and families in the United States, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and India. The company operates in three segments: Full Service Center-Based Child Care, Back-Up Care, and Educational Advisory and Other Services.