Norges Bank Acquires New Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,142,556 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $867,785,000. Norges Bank owned 1.13% of The Cigna Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Stephens dropped their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $348.00 price target (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,289,920. This represents a 42.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $324.74 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $262.03 and a 12-month high of $370.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $303.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $314.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.79 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 is presently 49.35%.

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.