Bridgewater Associates LP Boosts Holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) by 338.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 137,472 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 106,141 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.32% of Signet Jewelers worth $11,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter worth $225,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,122 shares of the company's stock worth $3,330,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Signet Jewelers by 1.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 310,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,061,000 after acquiring an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 132,070 shares of the company's stock worth $10,704,000 after purchasing an additional 35,174 shares during the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 5.3 %

Shares of NYSE SIG traded up $2.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.19. 237,060 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,144,371. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $53.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 6.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.63. Signet Jewelers Limited has a twelve month low of $45.55 and a twelve month high of $112.06.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.73 EPS. The company's revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were 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 owns 22,752 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Kevin Symancyk bought 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $861,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 50,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,913,289.50. This represents a 42.01 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.