Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Shares of Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 680,737 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the previous session’s volume of 1,064,881 shares.The stock last traded at $47.21 and had previously closed at $47.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Bentley Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Bentley Systems from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Bentley Systems in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Bentley Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Bentley Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.44.

Bentley Systems Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.18. Bentley Systems had a net margin of 26.60% and a return on equity of 33.87%. The firm had revenue of $310.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bentley Systems, Incorporated will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bentley Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. This is a boost from Bentley Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Bentley Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 88,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.48, for a total transaction of $4,400,009.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 link. Corporate insiders own 21.74% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bentley Systems

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSY. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Bentley Systems in the 1st quarter worth $241,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Bentley Systems by 250.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 3,436 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Bentley Systems by 96.7% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 5,114 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Bentley Systems by 31.2% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 71,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,170,000 after purchasing an additional 17,080 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Bentley Systems by 315.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.