Boston Partners Sells 1,080,728 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Boston Partners cut its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 62.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 643,307 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 1,080,728 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $177,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,367,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 323,911 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $112,216,000 after purchasing an additional 11,228 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 75,837 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $20,942,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $15,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 15,713 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,466 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens reduced their price target on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on 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. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total value of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $3,182,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of CI stock opened at $322.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $88.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $262.03 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $298.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $315.64. 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 Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released 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 previous year, the firm posted $6.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. 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%.

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.