Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) Rating Lowered to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $135.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $146.00. Jefferies Financial Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.99% from the company's current price.

Separately, Morgan Stanley upped 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 note on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.67.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BFAM traded up $0.41 during trading on Monday, reaching $122.74. The company had a trading volume of 852,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,344. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.31 and a beta of 1.33. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 12 month low of $101.92 and a 12 month high of $141.90.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.14. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 14.62% and a net margin of 5.91%. The business had revenue of $665.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $664.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.36, for a total value of $125,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 31,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,942,446.64. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth J. Boland sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.16, for a total value of $462,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,162 shares in the company, valued at $10,594,209.92. This trade represents a 4.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,282 shares of company stock worth $1,726,433 in the last three months. 1.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,391,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $557,959,000 after acquiring an additional 845,391 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $91,536,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $79,578,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $71,842,000.

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions

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.