Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 1,136 Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,851 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions were worth $1,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 7,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,739 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 63.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,075,000 after purchasing an additional 11,236 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $679,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 115,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,768,000 after buying an additional 35,959 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,212,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BFAM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.67.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BFAM opened at $125.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.12 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $124.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.59 and a 1-year high of $141.90.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total value of $124,690.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total transaction of $311,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.