Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) by 194.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 914 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions were worth $101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 423.2% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,000.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock opened at $116.32 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $123.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.83. The stock has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 48.47 and a beta of 1.31. 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 current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BFAM shares. 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 note on Friday, December 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the 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 owns 22,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,838,708.18. This trade represents 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 business’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 33,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,170,755.81. This 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 owned by corporate insiders.

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.