Analysts Set Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) PT at $137.67

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $137.67.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of BFAM opened at $118.07 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.02. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 52-week low of $100.59 and a 52-week high of $141.90. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 49.20 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,838,708.18. The trade was a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total transaction of $124,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 33,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,170,755.81. This trade represents a 2.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,442,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,332,000 after purchasing an additional 101,151 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,958,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,654,000 after buying an additional 1,868,117 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 worth $393,141,000 after acquiring an additional 511,905 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,370,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,752,000 after purchasing an additional 532,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY boosted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,559,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,846,000 after buying an additional 69,940 shares during the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Company 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.