Cypress Capital Group Trims Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Cypress Capital Group reduced its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 33.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,179 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 1,092 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CI. Swedbank AB increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 26.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 570,283 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $197,569,000 after purchasing an additional 119,681 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 42.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,877 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 4.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,664 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $10,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in The Cigna Group in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,137 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,807,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI stock opened at $309.84 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 Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $262.03 and a 1 year high of $370.83. The firm has a market cap of $86.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $318.05.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly 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 company posted $6.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.35%.

Insider Activity at The Cigna Group

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the 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 $8,173,499.24. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $1,511,020.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on CI shares. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stephens dropped their target price on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $372.31.

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.