Virtu Financial LLC Invests $210,000 in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 2,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Khrom Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Signet Jewelers during the 2nd quarter worth $58,357,000. Eminence Capital LP boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 71.3% during the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 844,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,644,000 after purchasing an additional 351,588 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in Signet Jewelers by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 6,949,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,562,000 after purchasing an additional 193,977 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Signet Jewelers by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,386,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,809,000 after purchasing an additional 149,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Signet Jewelers by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,069,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,347,000 after buying an additional 126,726 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SIG. UBS Group reduced their target price on Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.60.

Insider Activity at Signet Jewelers

In other news, insider Rebecca Wooters sold 22,151 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $2,192,949.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 68,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,765,957. This represents a 24.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 3,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.67, for a total transaction of $353,303.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 775,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,829,326.15. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 43,194 shares of company stock valued at $4,251,906. Company insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Signet Jewelers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SIG opened at $79.42 on Thursday. 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 Limited has a fifty-two week low of $72.26 and a fifty-two week high of $112.06. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.65 and a 200-day moving average of $90.38.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 28.69% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Signet Jewelers’s payout ratio is currently 13.35%.

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.