Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Buys Shares of 102,300 Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 102,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,340,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned about 0.18% of Bright Horizons Family Solutions as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFAM. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 95.9% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 4,183 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,724,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 297,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,979,000 after purchasing an additional 19,237 shares in the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 112,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 1,081.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 354,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,268,000 after purchasing an additional 324,262 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on BFAM. 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.33.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

BFAM stock opened at $119.97 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.59 and a 52 week high of $141.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.81 and its 200 day moving average is $119.24. The firm has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.99 and a beta of 1.32.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.14. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 5.22% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The company had revenue of $665.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $664.34 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.36, for a total transaction of $125,360.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 31,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,942,446.64. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total transaction of $311,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,757 shares in the company, valued at $2,838,708.18. The trade was a 9.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $561,900. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.