Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 54,602 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $15,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,367,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% during the third 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 last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 75,837 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $20,942,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $15,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 28.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,466 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on CI shares. Stephens cut their price objective on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $372.31.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 2.1 %

The Cigna Group stock opened at $311.08 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $85.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $295.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.10.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the business posted $6.79 EPS. Analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $3,182,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,289,920. The trade was a 42.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,375 shares of company stock valued at $12,866,600. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.