Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) Holdings Cut by Grace & White Inc. NY

Grace & White Inc. NY lessened its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 193,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,949 shares during the period. Signet Jewelers comprises approximately 3.6% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in Signet Jewelers were worth $20,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SIG. Eminence Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,962,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,262,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,445,000 after purchasing an additional 349,771 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter valued at $19,826,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 719,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,645,000 after purchasing an additional 151,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,201,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,253,000 after purchasing an additional 93,136 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SIG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their target price on Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Signet Jewelers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on Signet Jewelers from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Signet Jewelers from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Signet Jewelers has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director H. Todd Stitzer sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.41, for a total transaction of $512,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,678 shares in the company, valued at $5,804,393.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Joan M. Hilson sold 8,000 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $792,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 207,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,565,567. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director H. Todd Stitzer sold 5,000 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.41, for a total transaction of $512,050.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 56,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,804,393.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,254 shares of company stock worth $4,460,394 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 4.54% of the company’s stock.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SIG traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $101.08. 623,819 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 721,845. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.68, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 2.13. Signet Jewelers Limited has a one year low of $57.10 and a one year high of $109.17.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $6.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by $0.40. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 32.26% and a net margin of 11.30%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. Signet Jewelers’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.14%.

About Signet Jewelers

Signet Jewelers Limited operates as a diamond jewelry retailer. It operates through three segments: North America, International, and Other. The North America segment operates jewelry stores in jewelry stores in malls, mall-based kiosks, and off-mall locations in the United States and Canada primarily under the Kay Jewelers, Kay Jewelers Outlet, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, Jared Vault, Zales Outlet, Zales Jewelers, Diamonds Direct, James Allen, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, and Peoples Jewellers names, as well as operates online through its digital banners, James Allen and Blue Nile.