Franklin Resources Inc. Has $2.69 Million Holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 33,339 shares of the company’s stock after selling 783 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Signet Jewelers were worth $2,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Signet Jewelers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,989,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $92,852,000 after purchasing an additional 182,948 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 309,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,950,000 after purchasing an additional 76,966 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 36.3% during 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 period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,418,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SIG. Cfra Research upgraded Signet Jewelers to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Signet Jewelers in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four research 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, Signet Jewelers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.60.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of SIG stock opened at $58.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.63. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 12-month low of $45.55 and a 12-month high of $112.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $53.89 and a 200-day moving average of $74.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.39 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.73 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. This is an increase from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio is -168.42%.

Insider Transactions at Signet Jewelers

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 transaction of $180,415.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,752 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,565.76. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James Kevin Symancyk bought 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.45 per share, for a total transaction of $861,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 50,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,913,289.50. The trade was a 42.01 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

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.