Empire Life Investments Inc. Sells 53,447 Shares of Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY)

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. has reduced its stake in Bentley Systems by 22.7%, now owning approximately 0.06% of the company worth $7.16 million.
• Insiders have sold over 1.2 million shares of Bentley Systems valued at over $61.4 million in the last quarter, indicating changing ownership dynamics within the company.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed opinions on Bentley Systems, with target prices ranging from $45.00 to $59.00 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Empire Life Investments Inc. lowered its stake in Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY - Free Report) by 22.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 181,950 shares of the company's stock after selling 53,447 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc. owned 0.06% of Bentley Systems worth $7,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BSY. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Bentley Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Bentley Systems by 1,707.1% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 759 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Bentley Systems by 106.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 843 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Bentley Systems during the first quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Bentley Systems by 99.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,419 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.16% of the company's stock.

Bentley Systems Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of BSY stock traded down $1.83 on Wednesday, hitting $55.22. The stock had a trading volume of 3,170,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,433,773. The firm has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.90, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $53.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.50. Bentley Systems, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $36.51 and a twelve month high of $59.25.

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. Bentley Systems had a return on equity of 29.18% and a net margin of 18.46%. The company had revenue of $364.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $363.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. Bentley Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Bentley Systems, Incorporated will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bentley Systems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Bentley Systems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on BSY shares. Mizuho cut their price target on Bentley Systems from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $64.00 price objective on Bentley Systems and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Bentley Systems from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Bentley Systems from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Bentley Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.70.

Insider Activity at Bentley Systems

In related news, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 150,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.54, for a total value of $8,331,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,859,327 shares in the company, valued at $214,347,021.58. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Raymond B. Bentley sold 122,114 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.70, for a total transaction of $6,191,179.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,347,424 shares in the company, valued at $778,114,396.80. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,189,869 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,388 over the last ninety days. 20.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.