Kennedy Capital Management LLC Sells 6,258 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 36.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,889 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 6,258 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $3,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.00.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:CI opened at $329.52 on Monday. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $262.03 and a twelve month high of $370.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $312.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.07.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.79 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $3,182,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,289,920. The trade was a 42.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 over the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Cigna Group 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.