Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Shares Purchased by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) by 29.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,370,336 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 532,644 shares during the quarter. Bright Horizons Family Solutions comprises 0.6% of William Blair Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 4.07% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions worth $262,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 28,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,160,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Impact Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $456,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 8,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 102,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,393,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In related news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 33,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,170,755.81. The trade was a 2.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 value 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. This represents a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of BFAM stock opened at $126.51 on Monday. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.59 and a 1-year high of $141.90. 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 has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.71 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.70.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.03). Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 5.22% and a return on equity of 13.63%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BFAM. UBS Group cut their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.67.

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.