Perennial Investment Advisors LLC Buys 58 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 971 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,367,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 323,911 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $112,216,000 after purchasing an additional 11,228 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 75,837 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $20,942,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $15,721,000 after buying an additional 1,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 15,713 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,444,000 after buying an additional 3,466 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens cut their target price on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price target on The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $348.00 price objective (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $373.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total value of $737,391.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,924.85. The trade was a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $1,511,020.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $322.02 on Monday. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $262.03 and a twelve month high of $370.83. The stock has a market cap of $88.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $308.72 and its 200-day moving average is $312.39.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.79 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is presently 49.35%.

About The Cigna Group

The Cigna Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and related products and services in the United States. Its Evernorth Health Services segment provides a range of coordinated and point solution health services, including pharmacy benefits, home delivery pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, distribution, and care delivery and management solutions to health plans, employers, government organizations, and health care providers.