Park Avenue Securities LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,623 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 1,697 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $2,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CI. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3,669.7% in the third quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 24,013 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $8,319,000 after acquiring an additional 23,376 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 323,911 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $112,216,000 after purchasing an additional 11,228 shares during the period. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 7.1% in the third quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 81,411 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $28,204,000 after buying an additional 5,397 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 28.3% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 15,713 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $5,444,000 after buying an additional 3,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in The Cigna Group by 6.7% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 105,479 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $36,542,000 after buying an additional 6,585 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $394.00 price objective (up from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.93.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI stock opened at $281.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $302.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $327.39. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $262.03 and a one year high of $370.83. The company has a market capitalization of $78.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.54.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $7.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.22 by $0.29. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The business had revenue of $63.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.83%.

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.