Perennial Investment Advisors LLC Has $268,000 Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 971 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,556,278 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,191,151,000 after purchasing an additional 501,320 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,957,180 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,640,878,000 after purchasing an additional 101,737 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,021,582 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,110,520,000 after buying an additional 737,099 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $867,785,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,927,223 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $808,323,000 after buying an additional 286,515 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,367,568.04. This trade represents a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $322.02 on Monday. 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 Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $262.03 and a 12-month high of $370.83. The company has a market capitalization of $88.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $308.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.39.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter last year, the business posted $6.79 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CI. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.25.

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.