Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 290,461 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,158 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado owned approximately 0.50% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions worth $31,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 105,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,969,000 after buying an additional 29,417 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $64,735,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 141.6% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 14,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after buying an additional 8,666 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,363,000. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $27,467,000.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock opened at $136.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $131.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of 96.13 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a one year low of $71.65 and a one year high of $141.90.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.15. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 12.86% and a net margin of 3.98%. The company had revenue of $670.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $666.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. Bright Horizons Family Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on BFAM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $114.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $119.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $115.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 35,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,311,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 35,925 shares in the company, valued at $4,311,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.93, for a total value of $327,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,961,549.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,635 shares of company stock worth $3,198,948 in the last three months. 1.22% of the stock is owned by 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.