South Dakota Investment Council Makes New $1.38 Million Investment in Versant Corporation $VSNT

South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new stake in shares of Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 37,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Versant in the first quarter worth $41,747,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Versant during the first quarter valued at $26,331,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Versant during the first quarter valued at $24,475,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Versant in the fourth quarter valued at $24,134,000. Finally, Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Versant in the first quarter valued at $14,243,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VSNT. Arete Research upgraded Versant from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Versant from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Versant in a report on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Versant from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Versant from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Versant has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.80.

Versant Price Performance

Versant stock opened at $35.99 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.70. Versant Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.17 and a 1 year high of $59.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion and a P/E ratio of 18.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Versant Corporation will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Versant Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 1st. Versant’s payout ratio is currently 75.38%.

Versant Company Profile

Versant Corporation is a provider of data management software. The Company designs, develops, markets and supports database management system products that companies use to solve data management and data integration issues. It also provides related product support, training and consulting services to assist users of the Company’s products in developing and deploying software applications based on its products. The Company’s Versant Object Database product is used primarily by enterprises, which have data management requirements, such as technology providers, telecommunications carriers, Government defense agencies, defense contractors, healthcare companies and companies in the financial services and transportation industries.