Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stake in Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK) by 6.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Shutterstock were worth $545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Shutterstock by 2.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Shutterstock by 1.2% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Shutterstock by 9.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Shutterstock by 20.7% during the second quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased 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 worth $209,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the period. 82.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SSTK. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Shutterstock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Shutterstock from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Shutterstock from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Shutterstock from $58.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

Shutterstock Stock Performance

Shares of SSTK opened at $30.44 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84 and a beta of 1.08. Shutterstock, Inc. has a one year low of $28.85 and a one year high of $54.40.

Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $250.59 million during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Shutterstock, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shutterstock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. Shutterstock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.