648,104 Shares in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 648,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $71,842,000. Norges Bank owned 1.11% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFAM. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $91,536,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $79,578,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 532,644 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 buying an additional 511,905 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 711,745 shares of the company's stock worth $78,897,000 after buying an additional 162,278 shares in the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Down 2.8 %

BFAM stock traded down $3.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $111.38. 878,860 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 428,865. The stock's fifty day moving average is $124.93 and its 200-day moving average is $122.08. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.41 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.59 and a 52-week high of $141.90.

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Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 33,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,170,755.81. This represents a 2.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. StockNews.com raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.67.

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.