Select Equity Group L.P. Sells 1,510,096 Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Select Equity Group L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,560,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,510,096 shares during the period. Signet Jewelers accounts for 1.8% of Select Equity Group L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Select Equity Group L.P. owned about 0.13% of Signet Jewelers worth $448,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 149.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Signet Jewelers by 832.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Signet Jewelers by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Signet Jewelers by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its position in Signet Jewelers by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE SIG opened at $66.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $58.05 and a 200-day moving average of $68.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.34. 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 quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.39 by $0.23. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.73 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is -168.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James Kevin Symancyk acquired 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $861,750.00. Following the completion of 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Helen Mccluskey acquired 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $100,062.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 31,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,878,575.76. This trade represents a 5.63% 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on SIG. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. CL King started coverage on Signet Jewelers in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cfra Research raised Signet Jewelers to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Signet Jewelers currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.67.

Signet Jewelers Company 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.