Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $2.39 Million in Versant Corporation $VSNT

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired 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 institutional investor acquired 64,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,388,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VSNT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Versant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,134,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Versant during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $795,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Versant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $646,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Versant in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Versant in the fourth quarter worth $112,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on VSNT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Versant in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Versant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Versant in a report on Monday, March 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Versant from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Versant from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.40.

Versant Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:VSNT opened at $35.97 on Tuesday. Versant Corporation has a 1-year low of $27.17 and a 1-year high of $59.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.08 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 2.32.

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Versant Corporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Versant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. Versant’s payout ratio is 75.38%.

Versant 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.