MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 975 Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,618 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Signet Jewelers were worth $2,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grace & White Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 207,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,728,000 after acquiring an additional 11,900 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 61,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,969,000 after buying an additional 11,218 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the fourth quarter worth $2,418,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the fourth quarter worth $40,989,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 36,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,958,000 after purchasing an additional 8,574 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Signet Jewelers news, Director Helen Mccluskey bought 1,700 shares of Signet Jewelers stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 31,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,878,575.76. This represents a 5.63 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Eugenia Ulasewicz sold 3,333 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 22,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,565.76. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Signet Jewelers Stock Performance

Shares of SIG opened at $59.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 6.80, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $54.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 1 year low of $45.55 and a 1 year high of $112.06.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The company reported $6.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.39 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $6.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is a boost from Signet Jewelers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is -168.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on SIG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Signet Jewelers to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $95.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Signet Jewelers has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.60.

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.