Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd Lowers Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,010 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 320 shares during the quarter. The Cigna Group makes up approximately 1.2% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $5,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total value of $737,391.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. The trade was a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price target (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stephens lowered their price objective on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $373.25.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

CI stock opened at $330.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $262.03 and a 1 year high of $370.83. The company has a market cap of $90.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $306.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $313.00.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced 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 firm earned $6.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend 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.