BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 67,090 Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) by 730.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,270 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 67,090 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.13% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions worth $8,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BFAM. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 503,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,858,000 after purchasing an additional 22,001 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 62,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $9,422,000. AXA S.A. lifted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 34,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,801,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:BFAM opened at $121.97 on Monday. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a one year low of $100.59 and a one year high of $141.90. The company has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.82 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $122.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.14. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 5.22% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The firm had revenue of $665.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $664.34 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In related news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total value of $311,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,838,708.18. This represents a 9.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total transaction of $124,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 33,449 shares in the company, valued at $4,170,755.81. This trade represents a 2.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock worth $561,900 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BFAM. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.33.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Profile

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.