Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,144 shares of the company’s stock after selling 875 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Signet Jewelers were worth $1,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 149.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 832.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 32.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:SIG opened at $64.38 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.14. 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 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.39 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is presently -168.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Kevin Symancyk acquired 15,000 shares of Signet Jewelers 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 completion of the transaction, 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 accessible through this link. Also, Director Helen Mccluskey acquired 1,700 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $100,062.00. Following the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SIG shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Signet Jewelers from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Cfra Research upgraded Signet Jewelers to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.00.

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.