First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 40,371 Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 209,748 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 40,371 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.36% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions worth $23,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 423.2% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 654 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BFAM has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total transaction of $124,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 33,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,170,755.81. This trade represents a 2.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 22,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,838,708.18. The trade was a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of BFAM opened at $120.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $123.06 and a 200 day moving average of $120.03. The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a PE ratio of 50.26 and a beta of 1.31. 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) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.03). Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 5.22%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Company 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.