Alpine Associates Management Inc. Acquires New Stake in Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK)

Key Points

• Alpine Associates Management Inc. has acquired a new stake in Shutterstock, Inc., purchasing nearly 600,000 shares valued at approximately $11.18 million, representing about 1.70% ownership of the company.
• Shutterstock reported a loss in earnings per share for the latest quarter, with $1.19 EPS missing the consensus estimate of $1.65, while revenue increased by 21.3% year-over-year.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.33 on September 18th, which translates to an annualized yield of 6.71% and a high dividend payout ratio of 121.10%.

Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE:SSTK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 599,955 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,177,000. Alpine Associates Management Inc. owned approximately 1.70% of Shutterstock at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SSTK. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Shutterstock by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,018,231 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $30,904,000 after buying an additional 189,015 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Shutterstock by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 666,348 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,414,000 after buying an additional 118,828 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Shutterstock by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 601,490 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,255,000 after buying an additional 132,055 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Shutterstock by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 557,583 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,388,000 after buying an additional 6,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Shutterstock by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 433,950 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,170,000 after buying an additional 52,682 shares during the last quarter. 82.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Shutterstock from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Shutterstock from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Shutterstock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Shutterstock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.67.

Shutterstock Stock Down 2.5%

Shutterstock stock traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $18.69. The company had a trading volume of 279,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 268,593. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $18.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.56. Shutterstock, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.35 and a 12 month high of $40.49. The company has a market capitalization of $662.93 million, a PE ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.99.

Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.46). Shutterstock had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 6.36%. The business had revenue of $266.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $248.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Shutterstock, Inc. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shutterstock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Shutterstock's dividend payout ratio is 72.93%.

Shutterstock Profile

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.