StockNews.com Upgrades Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) to Hold

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $137.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 objective for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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 note on Friday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.33.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock opened at $118.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.75 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $114.93 and a 200 day moving average of $124.55. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 12 month low of $100.59 and a 12 month high of $141.90.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.03). Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 13.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 25,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,897,230.47. This trade represents a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFAM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,442,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,332,000 after buying an additional 101,151 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,546,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,141,000 after acquiring an additional 511,905 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in 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 worth $445,761,000 after acquiring an additional 423,456 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,370,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,752,000 after purchasing an additional 532,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 999,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,027,000 after purchasing an additional 3,970 shares during the period.

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.