KBC Group NV Lowers Stock Position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,409 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.14% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions worth $9,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 15.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,995,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 174.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 344,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,260,000 after purchasing an additional 218,707 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,639,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,780,000.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

BFAM opened at $122.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $113.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.37. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.83 and a 52-week high of $141.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 61.58 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $719.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $713.16 million. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 13.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BFAM. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $137.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.56.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total value of $573,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,257 shares in the company, valued at $2,897,230.47. This trade represents a 16.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.