Nuveen Asset Management LLC Buys 5,318 Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 339,872 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,318 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.78% of Signet Jewelers worth $27,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 149.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 832.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Signet Jewelers by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO James Kevin Symancyk purchased 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.45 per share, for a total transaction of $861,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,710 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,913,289.50. The trade was a 42.01% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Helen Mccluskey purchased 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $100,062.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 31,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 3.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 5.6%

Shares of NYSE:SIG traded up $3.53 on Tuesday, reaching $66.60. The company had a trading volume of 570,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,180,107. Signet Jewelers Limited has a twelve month low of $45.55 and a twelve month high of $112.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.34. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.39 by $0.23. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.73 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Signet Jewelers's payout ratio is currently -168.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. CL King assumed coverage on Signet Jewelers in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cfra Research raised Signet Jewelers to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.83.

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.