Principal Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Versant Corporation $VSNT

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group initiated a new position in Versant Corporation, buying 711,273 shares worth about $26.3 million and owning roughly 0.50% of the company.
• Other institutional investors have also been active in VSNT, with several funds adding new stakes or sharply increasing holdings in recent quarters.
• Analysts are mostly cautious on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $41.80, while Versant recently beat quarterly EPS estimates and announced a $0.375 per share dividend.

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 711,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,331,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Versant at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VSNT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Versant in the 4th quarter worth $24,134,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Versant during the 1st quarter valued at about $6,518,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Versant by 3,591.6% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 166,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,157,000 after buying an additional 161,803 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Versant in the first quarter valued at about $5,478,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in Versant in the fourth quarter worth about $3,460,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Versant in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Versant from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Arete Research raised shares of Versant from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Versant from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Seaport Research Partners restated a "buy" rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Versant in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.80.

Versant Trading Up 0.2%

VSNT opened at $35.96 on Tuesday. Versant Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.17 and a 12-month high of $59.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $39.22.

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $1.99 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. As a group, analysts predict that Versant Corporation will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Versant Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. Versant's payout ratio is currently 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.

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