Boston Partners Trims Position in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)

Boston Partners lowered its holdings in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,312 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,479 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 0.90% of J.Jill worth $3,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in J.Jill by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 576,031 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,910,000 after purchasing an additional 153,568 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of J.Jill by 186.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 106,856 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,951,000 after buying an additional 69,511 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in J.Jill by 502.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 77,144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 64,335 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in J.Jill in the third quarter valued at $1,167,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in J.Jill by 28.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 140,762 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,473,000 after acquiring an additional 31,265 shares during the last quarter. 40.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

J.Jill Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of J.Jill stock opened at $18.02 on Friday. J.Jill, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.31 and a twelve month high of $40.61. The stock has a market cap of $276.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.30.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $94.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.33 million. J.Jill had a return on equity of 71.30% and a net margin of 6.80%. Equities research analysts forecast that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.Jill Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a positive change from J.Jill’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.89%.

Insider Transactions at J.Jill

In related news, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.57, for a total value of $132,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 132,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,512,686.85. The trade was a 3.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.20.

About J.Jill

J.Jill, Inc operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.