Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $21.68 Million Stake in Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG) by 15.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 210,158 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,316 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.48% of Signet Jewelers worth $21,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in Signet Jewelers by 4.9% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Signet Jewelers by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Signet Jewelers by 2.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Signet Jewelers news, CEO Virginia Drosos sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.25, for a total transaction of $60,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 728,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,732,275. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Oded Edelman sold 1,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.53, for a total value of $132,152.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,087,916.98. The trade was a 4.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,568 shares of company stock valued at $1,705,653. Company insiders own 3.26% of the company’s stock.

Signet Jewelers Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of SIG stock opened at $81.21 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. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 2.10. Signet Jewelers Limited has a 52-week low of $72.26 and a 52-week high of $112.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.46.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.05). Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 28.69%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Signet Jewelers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Signet Jewelers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Signet Jewelers from $145.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Signet Jewelers from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut Signet Jewelers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.60.

About Signet Jewelers

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.