Verition Fund Management LLC Raises Stake in Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK)

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK) by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,805 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Shutterstock worth $833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Shutterstock by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Shutterstock by 1.2% during the third quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 27,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Shutterstock by 9.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Palouse Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Shutterstock by 20.7% in the second quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Shutterstock by 17.9% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,406 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. 82.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SSTK shares. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Shutterstock from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Shutterstock from $58.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Shutterstock from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Shutterstock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Shutterstock Stock Performance

Shares of Shutterstock stock opened at $32.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. Shutterstock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.85 and a 1 year high of $54.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 32.04 and a beta of 1.08.

Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $250.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $240.90 million. Shutterstock had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 4.03%. Shutterstock’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Shutterstock, Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shutterstock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Shutterstock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.65%.

About Shutterstock

Shutterstock, Inc provides platform to connect brands and businesses to high quality content in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers image services consisting of photographs, vectors, and illustrations, which is used in visual communications, such as websites, digital and print marketing materials, corporate communications, books, publications, and others; footage services, including video clips, filmed by industry experts and cinema grade video effects in HD and 4K formats that are integrated into websites, social media, marketing campaigns, and cinematic productions; and music services comprising music tracks and sound effects, which are used to complement images and footage.