Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $150.29 Million Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 544,268 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 48,865 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $150,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CI. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 570,283 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $197,569,000 after buying an additional 119,681 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,877 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,664 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $10,970,000 after buying an additional 1,372 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,137 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,807,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value 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. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.31.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 0.3 %

The Cigna Group stock opened at $309.84 on Thursday. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $318.05.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.79 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 49.35%.

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.