Versant Corporation $VSNT Holdings Raised by RWC Asset Management LLP

RWC Asset Management LLP lifted its position in shares of Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) by 34.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 614,629 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 156,441 shares during the quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Versant were worth $19,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VSNT. State Street Corp purchased a new position in shares of Versant during the second quarter valued at $171,182,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Versant in the first quarter worth about $41,747,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Versant in the first quarter worth about $26,331,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Versant in the first quarter worth about $25,317,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Versant during the 1st quarter worth about $24,475,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. 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, July 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Versant from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Versant in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $41.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Versant in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Versant in a research note on Friday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Versant has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.29.

Versant Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:VSNT traded down $0.86 on Friday, reaching $31.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,124,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,755,097. Versant Corporation has a 52-week low of $27.17 and a 52-week high of $59.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion and a PE ratio of 9.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Versant (NASDAQ:VSNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Versant Corporation will post 4.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Versant Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st were paid a $0.3750 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 1st. Versant’s payout ratio is 43.10%.

Versant Profile

Versant, Inc (NASDAQ: VSNT) is a media and entertainment company formed from selected cable television and digital assets formerly owned by Comcast’s NBCUniversal division. The company develops, produces, distributes and markets entertainment, news, sports and lifestyle content across television networks and digital platforms.

Versant’s portfolio includes USA Network, E!, SYFY, Oxygen, Golf Channel and related digital properties. Its assets also include Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, which provide movie-ticketing, entertainment information and media-review services.