Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Sells 2,635 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,672 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 2,635 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $6,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,478,767 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $408,347,000 after purchasing an additional 55,839 shares in the last quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 88.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB now owns 78,385 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $21,645,000 after purchasing an additional 36,700 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The Cigna Group by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 13,773 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,803,000 after buying an additional 973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth about $24,849,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $373.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $3,182,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,289,920. This represents a 42.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 4.9 %

NYSE:CI opened at $322.02 on Monday. The firm 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 Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $308.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.79 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

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