Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Has $237,000 Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. reduced its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 88.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 859 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 6,642 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CI. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 49,287.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 400,040 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $138,590,000 after buying an additional 399,230 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 884,406 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $244,220,000 after acquiring an additional 314,123 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,230,397 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,929,978,000 after acquiring an additional 279,880 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 497,875 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $137,483,000 after acquiring an additional 202,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $69,972,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stephens lowered their price target 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 dropped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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 research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $373.69.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of CI stock opened at $299.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $83.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $262.03 and a 52 week high of $370.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $319.60.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $6.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.75%.

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.