Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Position in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) by 29.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,556 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,988 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.19% of Signet Jewelers worth $4,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grace & White Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 19.8% in the first quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 248,312 shares of the company's stock worth $14,417,000 after acquiring an additional 41,050 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the first quarter worth approximately $250,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the first quarter worth approximately $254,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the first quarter worth approximately $238,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Helen Mccluskey purchased 1,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $100,062.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 31,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,878,575.76. This represents a 5.63% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Kevin Symancyk purchased 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $861,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,913,289.50. This represents a 42.01% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SIG. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Signet Jewelers from $62.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Signet Jewelers in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Signet Jewelers from $65.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Signet Jewelers from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.14.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SIG traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $82.44. 1,402,791 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,207,403. The company has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 89.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.36. Signet Jewelers Limited has a one year low of $45.55 and a one year high of $106.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.89.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 22.41% and a net margin of 0.63%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Signet Jewelers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 139.13%.

About Signet Jewelers

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.