Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 2,341 Shares of J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC trimmed its position in J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,150 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,341 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.18% of J.Jill worth $778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in JILL. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of J.Jill by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 422,463 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,422,000 after purchasing an additional 119,282 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 worth $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 64,335 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.Jill during the third quarter valued at about $1,167,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of J.Jill by 28.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 140,762 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,473,000 after buying an additional 31,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of J.Jill in the 3rd quarter valued at about $606,000. Institutional investors own 40.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at J.Jill

In related news, CFO Mark W. Webb sold 6,740 shares of J.Jill stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $192,359.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,773,745.52. This trade represents a 6.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Claire Spofford sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.98, for a total transaction of $134,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,095,887.76. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,341 shares of company stock valued at $781,538 in the last 90 days. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of J.Jill in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, J.Jill has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.17.

J.Jill Stock Performance

Shares of JILL stock opened at $25.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average of $27.10 and a 200 day moving average of $27.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.69. J.Jill, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.66 and a 1 year high of $40.61.

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The specialty retailer reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.09. J.Jill had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 71.30%. As a group, research analysts expect that J.Jill, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

J.Jill Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. J.Jill’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.89%.

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.