Retail investors who hold 44% of Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) gained 3.8%, institutions profited as well

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Bentley Systems indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 46% ownership
• Insiders have been selling lately

A look at the shareholders of Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 44% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Retail investors gained the most after market cap touched US$15b last week, while institutions who own 33% also benefitted.

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

See our latest analysis for Bentley Systems

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bentley Systems?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

We can see that Bentley Systems does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Bentley Systems' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Bentley Systems is not owned by hedge funds. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Keith Bentley (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 6.6% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 6.5% of common stock, and Raymond Bentley holds about 6.0% of the company stock. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Raymond Bentley is also a Member of the Board of Directors, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders. In addition, we found that Gregory Bentley, the CEO has 3.6% of the shares allocated to their name.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Insiders own US$3.4b worth of shares in the US$15b company. That's quite meaningful. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 44% stake in Bentley Systems. 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:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Bentley Systems 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.