Geode Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 989,772 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,589 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.28% of Signet Jewelers worth $79,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SIG. Grace & White Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 207,262 shares of the company's stock worth $16,728,000 after buying an additional 11,900 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 61,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,969,000 after purchasing an additional 11,218 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,418,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,989,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Signet Jewelers by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 36,655 shares of the company's stock worth $2,958,000 after buying an additional 8,574 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on SIG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Signet Jewelers to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.60.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $180,415.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,231,565.76. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO James Kevin Symancyk acquired 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.45 per share, for a total transaction of $861,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,913,289.50. This trade represents a 42.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

NYSE:SIG traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $55.28. 211,295 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,137,891. The company's 50 day moving average price is $53.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.63. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 52-week low of $45.55 and a 52-week high of $112.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.39 by $0.23. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.73 earnings per share. Signet Jewelers's revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Signet Jewelers's dividend payout ratio is presently -168.42%.

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.