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

South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in shares of Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 37,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Versant in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,747,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Versant during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,331,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Versant during the first quarter valued at approximately $24,475,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Versant in the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,134,000. Finally, Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Versant in the first quarter worth approximately $14,243,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Versant in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Versant from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. 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. Zacks Research raised Versant from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Versant from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One research 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.80.

Versant Stock Up 0.3%

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

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Versant Corporation will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Versant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 was Wednesday, July 1st. Versant’s payout ratio is presently 75.38%.

About Versant

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.