JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 845,391 Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 23.8% to approximately $558 million, making up about 7.65% of the company's stock.
• Insider selling activity includes CFO Elizabeth J. Boland and COO Mary Lou Burke selling shares, resulting in a decrease in their ownership stakes.
• Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions declined 1.4%, with analysts projecting earnings of $3.61 per share for the current year, and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy among equities research analysts.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Free Report) by 23.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,391,997 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 845,391 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 7.65% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions worth $557,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 60.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,868,117 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 199.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 671,635 shares of the company's stock worth $74,451,000 after buying an additional 447,457 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the first quarter worth approximately $50,653,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 1,081.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 354,241 shares of the company's stock worth $39,268,000 after buying an additional 324,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 742.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 273,399 shares of the company's stock worth $30,306,000 after buying an additional 240,960 shares during the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

BFAM traded down $0.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $119.08. 368,226 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 498,013. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.75 and a twelve month high of $141.90. The company has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.04 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $119.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.12.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $731.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $724.32 million. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 15.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BFAM. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Elizabeth J. Boland sold 3,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 80,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,594,209.92. This represents a 4.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.10, for a total value of $360,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,233 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,783.30. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,282 shares of company stock valued at $2,212,923. Company insiders own 1.21% of the company's stock.

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.