6,591 Shares in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) Acquired by Optimize Financial Inc

Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SIG. State Street Corp grew its position in Signet Jewelers by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,756,075 shares of the company's stock worth $181,122,000 after purchasing an additional 16,912 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 182,948 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Signet Jewelers by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 676,289 shares of the company's stock worth $54,583,000 after acquiring an additional 6,393 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,989,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 338,247 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,300,000 after purchasing an additional 6,542 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Signet Jewelers

In other news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $180,415.29. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,565.76. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 cost of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $861,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 50,710 shares in the company, 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. 3.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SIG shares. Cfra Research raised Signet Jewelers to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $70.00 target price (down from $80.00) on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Signet Jewelers currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.60.

Signet Jewelers Price Performance

Shares of SIG stock traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $55.34. 1,225,372 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,141,761. 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 Limited has a 52-week low of $45.55 and a 52-week high of $112.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $53.97 and a 200 day moving average of $74.03. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 6.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.63.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 earnings per share 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 paid 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 dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Signet Jewelers's payout ratio is currently -168.42%.

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.