Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $58.44.

BSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Bentley Systems in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. William Blair started coverage on Bentley Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Bentley Systems from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Bentley Systems in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Bentley Systems in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th.

Insider Transactions at Bentley Systems

In other news, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 88,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.48, for a total transaction of $4,400,009.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,164,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,283,576.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Bentley Systems news, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 17,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $936,155.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,150,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $943,291,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 88,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.48, for a total transaction of $4,400,009.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,164,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,283,576.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 21.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,117,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,154,093,000 after buying an additional 355,092 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bentley Systems by 4.5% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 13,516,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $677,987,000 after acquiring an additional 578,512 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Bentley Systems by 1.9% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 5,446,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,196,000 after acquiring an additional 100,207 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Bentley Systems by 6.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,625,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,520,000 after acquiring an additional 99,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Bentley Systems by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,430,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,618,000 after purchasing an additional 28,285 shares during the period. 44.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bentley Systems Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:BSY opened at $53.54 on Thursday. Bentley Systems has a twelve month low of $41.59 and a twelve month high of $55.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $50.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.84.

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18. The business had revenue of $310.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.67 million. Bentley Systems had a net margin of 26.60% and a return on equity of 33.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Bentley Systems will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bentley Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Bentley Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Bentley Systems’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Bentley Systems Company Profile

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.