Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 2,866 Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,178 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,866 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Signet Jewelers were worth $16,752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers during the third quarter valued at about $1,905,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Signet Jewelers by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 394,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,300,000 after acquiring an additional 118,275 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Signet Jewelers by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 585,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,036,000 after purchasing an additional 39,316 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Signet Jewelers by 9.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 615,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,225,000 after purchasing an additional 52,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000.

Signet Jewelers Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE SIG opened at $94.35 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 6.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.15. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 12 month low of $57.10 and a 12 month high of $109.17.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $6.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.55 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 11.30% and a return on equity of 32.26%. Signet Jewelers’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is currently 7.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SIG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Signet Jewelers from $128.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director H. Todd Stitzer sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 56,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,804,393.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Vincent Ciccolini sold 4,000 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.64, for a total value of $406,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 46,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,683,164.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director H. Todd Stitzer sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 approximately $5,804,393.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,254 shares of company stock valued at $5,075,854 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.54% of the company’s stock.

Signet Jewelers Profile

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.