Natural Investments LLC Increases Position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

Key Points

• Natural Investments LLC has increased its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 18.2%, owning 21,386 shares worth $2.716 million after acquiring an additional 3,290 shares in Q1.
• Several research firms have adjusted their ratings for Bright Horizons, with Jefferies and Morgan Stanley lowering their price targets and shifting from "buy" to "hold" and "underweight" ratings, respectively.
• Bright Horizons reported a 9.2% year-over-year revenue increase for their most recent quarter, posting $1.07 earnings per share, which beat analysts' estimates.

Natural Investments LLC raised its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,386 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,290 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC's holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions were worth $2,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allianz SE grew its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 5,181.0% in the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 3,327 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 304.9% in the first quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 9,281 shares of the company's stock worth $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 6,989 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the first quarter worth $311,000. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 3.5% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,123 shares of the company's stock worth $1,413,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 24.5% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 27,587 shares of the company's stock worth $3,505,000 after acquiring an additional 5,436 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.10, for a total transaction of $360,300.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David H. Lissy sold 6,282 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.10, for a total transaction of $817,288.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 69,312 shares in the company, valued at $9,017,491.20. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,282 shares of company stock worth $2,212,923 over the last ninety days. 1.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of BFAM stock traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $119.36. The stock had a trading volume of 530,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 671,317. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $119.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.12. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.75 and a 52-week high of $141.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 39.13 and a beta of 1.34. 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 (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.07. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 6.34% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $731.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $724.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BFAM shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.75.

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.