Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) insiders, who hold 46% of the firm would be disappointed by the recent pullback

Key Insights

• Bentley Systems' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• The top 8 shareholders own 53% of the company
• Institutions own 40% of Bentley Systems

A look at the shareholders of Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 46% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And following last week's 6.4% decline in share price, insiders suffered the most losses.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Bentley Systems, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Bentley Systems

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bentley Systems?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Bentley Systems does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Bentley Systems' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Bentley Systems. Corinne Bentley is currently the largest shareholder, with 11% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.1% and 6.4% of the stock. Keith Bentley, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 53% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Bentley Systems

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Bentley Systems, Incorporated. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful US$6.9b stake in this US$15b business. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 14% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Bentley Systems better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Bentley Systems is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.