Financial Counselors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Financial Counselors Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,770 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 39 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 56.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 261 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 21.2% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 246 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co increased its position in The Cigna Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 19,946 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $6,910,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,603 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,020,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 price target (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $373.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,367,568.04. The trade was 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 valued at $13,603,991 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of CI stock opened at $324.97 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $304.67 and a 200 day moving average of $314.08. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $262.03 and a 1 year high of $370.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.79 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change 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 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.