Axa S.A. Decreases Holdings in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

AXA S.A. lowered its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) by 40.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,639 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,974 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A. owned approximately 0.07% of Signet Jewelers worth $2,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SIG. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 149.3% during the 4th 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 position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 832.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake 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 worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,740 shares of the company's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,788 shares of the company's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Helen Mccluskey purchased 1,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $100,062.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 31,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,878,575.76. This trade represents a 5.63 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $861,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,913,289.50. This trade represents a 42.01 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.26% of the company's stock.

Signet Jewelers Trading Down 0.6 %

Signet Jewelers stock traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $64.38. 633,625 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,160,114. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $56.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.14. Signet Jewelers Limited has a fifty-two week low of $45.55 and a fifty-two week high of $112.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.34.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.39 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.73 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Signet Jewelers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Signet Jewelers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -168.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SIG. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Signet Jewelers from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. CL King started coverage on Signet Jewelers in a research note on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Signet Jewelers to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $78.00.

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.