Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $42.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $51.00.

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

Bentley Systems Price Performance

Shares of BSY opened at $43.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.30. Bentley Systems has a 1-year low of $42.46 and a 1-year high of $57.19. The company has a market cap of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.55, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.03.

Bentley Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 19th will be given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 19th. This is a boost from Bentley Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Bentley Systems’s payout ratio is presently 21.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bentley Systems news, Director Keith A. Bentley sold 1,152 shares of Bentley Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.33, for a total value of $53,372.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,703,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $773,890,575.08. The trade was a 0.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 21.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bentley Systems

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Bentley Systems by 20.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 204,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,396,000 after purchasing an additional 34,871 shares during the period. Bar Harbor Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Bentley Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,413,000. Needham Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bentley Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,134,000. Mirabella Financial Services LLP increased its stake in Bentley Systems by 1,155.0% in the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 100,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,018,000 after acquiring an additional 92,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montanaro Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Bentley Systems by 8.8% in the third quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 331,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,839,000 after acquiring an additional 26,741 shares during the last quarter. 44.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.