Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 33.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,715 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Signet Jewelers were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Signet Jewelers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,989,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,150,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,852,000 after buying an additional 182,948 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 309,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,950,000 after buying an additional 76,966 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Signet Jewelers by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 132,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,704,000 after acquiring an additional 35,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Signet Jewelers in the fourth quarter valued at $2,418,000.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

NYSE:SIG opened at $50.65 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $53.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.73. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 1-year low of $45.55 and a 1-year high of $112.06.

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

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -168.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SIG. Bank of America dropped their price target on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Signet Jewelers to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Signet Jewelers has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total transaction of $180,415.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Kevin Symancyk purchased 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $57.45 per share, for a total transaction of $861,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.