Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $56.10 and last traded at $55.81, with a volume of 403262 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.35.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Bentley Systems from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Bentley Systems from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Bentley Systems from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on Bentley Systems from $62.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Bentley Systems from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bentley Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David R. Shaman sold 19,156 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $1,053,196.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 670,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,867,278.84. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 150,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.54, for a total value of $8,331,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,859,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $214,347,021.58. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,181,519 shares of company stock valued at $60,257,023 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 20.56% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Bentley Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Bentley Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 1,529.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 668 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Twin Tree Management LP grew its holdings in Bentley Systems by 361.9% in the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 739 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Bentley Systems by 1,707.1% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 759 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Bentley Systems by 106.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 843 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. 44.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bentley Systems Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 1.09.

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.05. Bentley Systems had a return on equity of 29.18% and a net margin of 18.46%. The business had revenue of $370.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $366.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Bentley Systems, Incorporated will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Bentley Systems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Bentley Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.44%.

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.