Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 47,020 Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 47,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,212,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 15.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,181,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,761,000 after buying an additional 423,456 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 999,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,027,000 after buying an additional 3,970 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 924,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,633,000 after buying an additional 7,597 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,578,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 3.2% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 707,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,126,000 after buying an additional 21,935 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Friday, December 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. Baird R W upgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

BFAM stock opened at $123.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.41 and a beta of 1.50. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.59 and a 1 year high of $141.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $121.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.97.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last posted its earnings results 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, research analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total transaction of $311,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,838,708.18. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

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.