The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Stake Lessened by Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP

Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP lowered its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,529 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 1,999 shares during the period. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $5,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 154,255.6% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,954,841 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,961,117,000 after buying an additional 11,947,096 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth $963,542,000. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the third quarter worth $731,041,000. FMR LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,967,363 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,567,783,000 after buying an additional 1,939,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 590,063 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $176,694,000 after buying an additional 538,274 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $330.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 target price (up previously from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.14.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CI traded down $2.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $350.35. The stock had a trading volume of 369,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,801. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $240.50 and a twelve month high of $365.71. The stock has a market cap of $102.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $345.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $313.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.91 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The Cigna Group’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total transaction of $11,084,500.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,618,339.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total transaction of $340,959.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,275,786.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total transaction of $11,084,500.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 348,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,618,339.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.