Teacher Retirement System of Texas Trims Stock Position in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) by 45.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,364 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,367 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Signet Jewelers were worth $369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 773 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Signet Jewelers by 832.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the company's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Signet Jewelers by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the company's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Signet Jewelers by 971.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,507 shares of the company's stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 2,273 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Signet Jewelers

In related news, Director Helen Mccluskey acquired 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $100,062.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 31,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,878,575.76. This represents a 5.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE SIG traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $82.67. 540,356 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,217,500. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $75.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.75. Signet Jewelers Limited has a one year low of $45.55 and a one year high of $106.28. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. 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 139.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SIG. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Signet Jewelers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. CL King began coverage on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Monday, May 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $62.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.14.

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.