Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,851,784 shares changed hands during 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Bentley Systems in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Bentley Systems from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Bentley Systems in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.29.

Bentley Systems Stock Down 1.2 %

The stock has a market cap 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bentley Systems, Incorporated will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Bentley Systems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 21.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 69,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.67, for a total transaction of $3,246,971.91. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,705,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $779,623,656.76. This represents a 0.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Barry J. Bentley sold 50,000 shares of Bentley Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.95, for a total transaction of $2,447,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,048,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $589,761,103.25. The trade was a 0.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 169,573 shares of company stock valued at $8,166,472. 21.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bentley Systems

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Bentley Systems in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Bentley Systems by 57.1% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 759 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bentley Systems during the second quarter worth about $43,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 500.0% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Bentley Systems by 49.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.16% of the company’s stock.

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.