Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Free Report) by 182.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,488 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,544 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions were worth $697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 79.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 322 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 244.2% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 327 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 194.8% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 914 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE BFAM opened at $126.83 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 52.84 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $122.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.59 and a 52 week high of $141.90.

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

Insider Activity

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 31,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,942,446.64. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.49, for a total transaction of $321,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,602,821.93. This trade represents a 10.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,282 shares of company stock valued at $1,851,123. Insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on BFAM. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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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