Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 471 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BFAM. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 6.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 2.9% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 37.2% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 68.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total value of $573,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,897,230.47. The trade was a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on BFAM shares. StockNews.com lowered Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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 research report on Friday, December 27th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.25.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BFAM opened at $112.46 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $114.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.25. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.07 and a 52-week high of $141.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.51 and a beta of 1.44.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.05. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 4.44%. The company had revenue of $719.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $713.16 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions

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.