23,060 Versant Corporation $VSNT Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its holdings in Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT) by 42.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,037 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,060 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Versant were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Versant by 1.3% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Versant by 253.5% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Versant in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Versant in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Versant in the first quarter worth about $32,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Versant from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Versant in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Versant from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Versant in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Versant in a report on Thursday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $41.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.29.

Versant Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VSNT opened at $31.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.35 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.76. Versant Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.17 and a fifty-two week high of $59.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38.

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

Versant Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $0.3750 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Versant’s payout ratio is currently 43.10%.

About Versant

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.