Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Takes $91.54 Million Position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 825,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $91,536,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 1.42% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BFAM. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,075,000 after buying an additional 11,236 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 37.2% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 535 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 8.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $308,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares in the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:BFAM opened at $128.91 on Friday. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.59 and a twelve month high of $141.90. The company has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.71 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $124.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.11.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share 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 forecast that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BFAM shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total transaction of $311,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,838,708.18. The trade was a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.