825,763 Shares in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Acquired by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 825,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $91,536,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 1.42% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BFAM. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,202 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $833,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,425 shares of the company's stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,161 shares of the company's stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 37.2% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 535 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BFAM shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research 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 for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bright Horizons Family Solutions currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.67.

Insider Activity

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total value of $311,850.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total value of $124,690.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BFAM traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, hitting $126.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 412,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 421,616. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $124.82 and a 200-day moving average of $122.62. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.90 and a beta of 1.50. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.59 and a 12-month high of $141.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

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.