1,944 Shares in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BFAM. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,181,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,761,000 after acquiring an additional 423,456 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the second quarter valued at about $28,995,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 174.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 344,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,260,000 after purchasing an additional 218,707 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the third quarter worth about $13,639,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the third quarter worth about $11,780,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 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. Robert W. Baird raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $137.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.00.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

BFAM opened at $115.18 on Monday. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.83 and a 12-month high of $141.90. The company has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.88 and a beta of 1.44. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.27.

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

Insider Transactions at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total transaction of $573,550.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,897,230.47. This trade represents a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

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.