Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,108,954 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,724 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of The Cigna Group worth $7,209,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CI. Truist Financial dropped their price target on 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (down previously from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.25.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

NYSE CI opened at $316.78 on Monday. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $262.03 and a one year high of $370.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $300.83 and a 200 day moving average of $314.69. The company has a market capitalization of $86.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. 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 Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 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 prior year, the company earned $6.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS 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 issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.