Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $2.95 Million Stock Position in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 186.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 106,856 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,511 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in J.Jill were worth $2,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JILL. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in J.Jill by 196.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,847 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,887 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in J.Jill by 58.4% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 6,272 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in J.Jill by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,079 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the 3rd quarter worth about $256,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in J.Jill during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other J.Jill news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of J.Jill stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.57, for a total value of $132,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 132,205 shares in the company, valued at $3,512,686.85. The trade was a 3.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE JILL opened at $18.09 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.40. The stock has a market cap of $277.44 million, a PE ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.55. J.Jill, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.82 and a 1 year high of $40.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $94.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.33 million. J.Jill had a return on equity of 71.30% and a net margin of 6.80%. Equities analysts anticipate that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This is a positive change from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, J.Jill has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.17.

J.Jill Company Profile

J.Jill, Inc operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.