Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a sell rating. The Goldman Sachs Group now has a $42.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $51.00. Bentley Systems traded as low as $43.75 and last traded at $43.99, with a volume of 373842 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.62.

BSY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer downgraded Bentley Systems from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Bentley Systems in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Bentley Systems from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Bentley Systems in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Bentley Systems from $65.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bentley Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.14.

Insider Activity at Bentley Systems

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 owns 16,705,028 shares in the company, valued at $779,623,656.76. This represents a 0.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 21.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bentley Systems

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB increased its position in Bentley Systems by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,007,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873,029 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Bentley Systems by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,614,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,209,000 after purchasing an additional 24,019 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in Bentley Systems by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,493,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,719,000 after purchasing an additional 736,369 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Bentley Systems by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 1,603,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,867,000 after purchasing an additional 112,824 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Bentley Systems by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,439,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,204,000 after buying an additional 228,502 shares during the last quarter. 44.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bentley Systems Trading Down 1.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $12.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.28, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $46.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.33. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 19th will be given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Bentley Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Bentley Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.62%.

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.