Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Trims Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,245 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $867,785,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $724,517,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $313,911,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,021,582 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,110,520,000 after acquiring an additional 737,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,556,278 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,191,151,000 after acquiring an additional 501,320 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on The Cigna Group from $339.00 to $382.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 target price on The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $388.00 target price (up previously from $384.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $379.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $3,182,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,289,920. The trade was a 42.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at $39,367,568.04. This trade represents a 17.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $321.70 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $325.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $309.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $262.03 and a one year high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.35 by $0.39. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. The firm had revenue of $65.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.44%.

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.