Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,851,784 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 89% from the previous session’s volume of 981,386 shares.The stock last traded at $45.45 and had previously closed at $45.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Bentley Systems in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Bentley Systems from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Bentley Systems in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.29.

Bentley Systems Stock Down 1.2 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24. The business had revenue of $335.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.36 million. Bentley Systems had a net margin of 27.73% and a return on equity of 29.50%. Bentley Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bentley Systems, Incorporated will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Bentley Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Bentley Systems’s payout ratio is 21.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bentley Systems

In related news, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 69,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.67, for a total value of $3,246,971.91. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,705,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $779,623,656.76. This trade represents a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Barry J. Bentley sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.44, for a total value of $2,472,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,098,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $598,136,738.40. This represents a 0.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 169,573 shares of company stock worth $8,166,472 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 21.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bentley Systems during the third quarter valued at $59,400,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Bentley Systems by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 204,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,396,000 after purchasing an additional 34,871 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management bought a new position in Bentley Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,413,000. Needham Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bentley Systems in the third quarter valued at about $2,134,000. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP grew its stake in Bentley Systems by 1,155.0% during the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 100,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,018,000 after buying an additional 92,768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.16% of the company’s stock.

About Bentley Systems

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, provides infrastructure engineering software solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers open modeling engineering applications, such as MicroStation, OpenBridge, OpenBuildings, OpenCities, OpenComms, OpenFlows, OpenPlant, OpenRail, OpenRoads, OpenSite, OpenTower, OpenTunnel, OpenUtilities, and OpenWindowPower; and open simulation engineering applications, including ADINA, AutoPIPE, CUBE, DYNAMEQ, EMME, LEGION, Power Line Systems, RAM, SACS, SPIDA, and STAAD; and geoprofessional applications for modeling and simulation of near and deep subsurface conditions, including AGS, Central, GeoStudio, Imago, Leapfrog, MX Deposit, Oasis montaj, OpenGround, and PLAXIS.