Select Equity Group L.P. Trims Position in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Select Equity Group L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG - Free Report) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,560,915 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,510,096 shares during the quarter. Signet Jewelers accounts for 1.8% of Select Equity Group L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Select Equity Group L.P. owned 12.79% of Signet Jewelers worth $448,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Shay Capital LLC bought a new position in Signet Jewelers during the 4th quarter valued at $484,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 3,829 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 112.9% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 5,338 shares of the company's stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 339,872 shares of the company's stock worth $27,431,000 after purchasing an additional 5,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Signet Jewelers by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 15,072 shares of the company's stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 4,760 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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. CL King started coverage on Signet Jewelers in a report on Monday, May 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Cfra Research raised Signet Jewelers to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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 investment 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, Signet Jewelers currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.67.

Insider Activity at Signet Jewelers

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Helen Mccluskey purchased 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.86 per share, for a total transaction of $100,062.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 31,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,878,575.76. This represents a 5.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Kevin Symancyk acquired 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $57.45 per share, with a total value of $861,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 50,710 shares in the company, valued at $2,913,289.50. This trade represents 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 company insiders.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

Shares of SIG stock traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $64.52. 408,589 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,523,981. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.00. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 52-week low of $45.55 and a 52-week high of $112.06.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.39 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.73 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. 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%.

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.