Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Bentley Systems, Incorporated $BSY

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors trimmed its Bentley Systems stake by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 179,727 shares and ending with 2.17 million shares valued at about $83.9 million.
• Bentley Systems just beat Q1 expectations, reporting earnings of $0.38 per share on revenue of $424.2 million; revenue rose 14.5% year over year.
• Despite the earnings beat, analyst views are mixed: the consensus rating remains Moderate Buy, but several firms have recently lowered price targets, including UBS and Mizuho.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY - Free Report) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,167,871 shares of the company's stock after selling 179,727 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned about 0.74% of Bentley Systems worth $83,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of BSY. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bentley Systems in the third quarter worth approximately $150,903,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Bentley Systems by 10.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,607,657 shares of the company's stock worth $957,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,591 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Bentley Systems by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 8,589,201 shares of the company's stock worth $327,807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338,706 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,486,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,986,000 after purchasing an additional 534,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 303.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 627,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,286,000 after purchasing an additional 471,845 shares during the last quarter. 44.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Bentley Systems from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Bentley Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Bentley Systems from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays upped their price target on Bentley Systems from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Bentley Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.33.

Bentley Systems Stock Performance

Shares of BSY stock opened at $32.76 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $35.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.84. Bentley Systems, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $30.83 and a 52 week high of $59.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of 37.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.01.

Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. Bentley Systems had a net margin of 18.12% and a return on equity of 28.65%. The firm had revenue of $424.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $419.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bentley Systems, Incorporated will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Bentley Systems Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Bentley Systems's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.82%.

Trending Headlines about Bentley Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting Bentley Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bentley Systems reported Q1 earnings of $0.38 per share, beating estimates of $0.36, while revenue of $424.2 million also topped expectations. Sales rose 14.5% year over year, suggesting continued healthy demand for the company’s software. Earnings transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho kept an outperform rating on Bentley Systems and still sees upside from current levels, which may help support sentiment despite the lower target. Benzinga report
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s earnings call transcript and presentation are in focus as investors look for commentary on growth trends, margins, and full-year guidance following the report. Yahoo Finance transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its price target on Bentley Systems from $50 to $45, a sign that analysts are becoming slightly more cautious about the stock’s near-term valuation. Mizuho price-target update

About Bentley Systems

Bentley Systems, Inc is a global software provider specializing in infrastructure engineering applications for the design, construction, and operations of roads, bridges, rail and transit systems, water and wastewater networks, power plants and grids, industrial facilities, and communications infrastructure. Founded in 1984 by brothers Keith and Barry Bentley, the company is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, and maintains offices and development centers across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

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