Strs Ohio Lowers Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Strs Ohio lessened its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 47.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 86,207 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 78,964 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $25,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 104.5% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 90 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in The Cigna Group during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in The Cigna Group during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 112.2% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 104 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on CI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (up previously from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $362.14.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $348.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $240.50 and a fifty-two week high of $365.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $347.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $314.14. The stock has a market cap of $102.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.56.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The company had revenue of $51.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.20%.

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.