New York State Teachers Retirement System Acquires New Position in Versant Corporation $VSNT

New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 147,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,478,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.10% of Versant at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VSNT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Versant in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,134,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Versant during the 4th quarter worth approximately $795,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Versant in the 4th quarter worth approximately $646,000. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Versant in the 1st quarter worth approximately $560,000. Finally, Lewis Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Versant in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $634,000.

Versant Stock Performance

Shares of VSNT opened at $37.39 on Wednesday. Versant Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.17 and a fifty-two week high of $59.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion and a P/E ratio of 18.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.07. 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 earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Versant Corporation will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Versant Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. Versant’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VSNT. Zacks Research downgraded Versant from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Versant from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Versant in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Versant from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Versant in a report on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Versant presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.40.

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.