iA Global Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 80.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,753 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 11,037 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $760,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in The Cigna Group by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 155,253 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $42,872,000 after buying an additional 46,354 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $635,000. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,974 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,845,000 after purchasing an additional 2,228 shares during the period. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 316 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 44,583 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $12,311,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CI. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 target price (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down from $415.00) 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 assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $373.25.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE CI opened at $316.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $86.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $262.03 and a one year high of $370.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $300.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $315.05.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $6.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase 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 1.91%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.