Northern Trust Corp Acquires 46,238 Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 314,070 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,238 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions were worth $34,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake 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. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 194.8% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 926.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total value of $124,690.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 33,449 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $561,900. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BFAM opened at $121.97 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’s 50 day moving average is $122.23 and its 200 day moving average is $119.34. The stock has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.82 and a beta of 1.32. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 5.22%. The firm had revenue of $665.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $664.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

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.