Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,108,954 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,724 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.39% of The Cigna Group worth $7,209,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $439,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 181,438 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $50,102,000 after purchasing an additional 24,578 shares during the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,753 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. English Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. English Capital Management LLC now owns 20,586 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focused Investors LLC lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 587,450 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $162,218,000 after purchasing an additional 47,550 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CI. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price target on The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $373.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 1.4 %

CI stock opened at $316.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $86.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $300.83 and its 200 day moving average is $314.69. 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 has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $6.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.35%.

The Cigna Group Company Profile

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.