Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its position in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) by 72.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,185 shares of the company's stock after selling 126,603 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.11% of Signet Jewelers worth $3,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SIG. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the third quarter valued at $210,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 34,260 shares of the company's stock worth $3,515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,312 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,122 shares of the company's stock worth $3,330,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 310,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.13, for a total value of $180,415.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,231,565.76. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Kevin Symancyk acquired 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $861,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,710 shares in the company, valued at $2,913,289.50. The trade was a 42.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.26% of the company's stock.

Signet Jewelers Stock Up 0.8 %

Signet Jewelers stock traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $55.34. 1,225,372 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,148,301. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 12-month low of $45.55 and a 12-month high of $112.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.01 and a 200 day moving average of $73.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.37, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.73 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Signet Jewelers's payout ratio is currently -168.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Cfra Research upgraded Signet Jewelers to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.60.

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.