Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Free Report) by 89.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,030 shares of the company's stock after selling 88,620 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions were worth $1,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 79.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 322 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 244.2% during the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 327 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 72.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 475 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

BFAM stock opened at $121.93 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $123.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.59 and a 12-month high of $141.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a PE ratio of 44.02 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Insider Activity at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other news, CFO Elizabeth J. Boland sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.16, for a total value of $462,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,594,209.92. This represents a 4.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 31,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,942,446.64. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,282 shares of company stock worth $1,726,433. 1.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bright Horizons Family Solutions has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.33.

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.

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