Korea Investment CORP Cuts Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Korea Investment CORP lowered its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 241,901 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 29,541 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.09% of The Cigna Group worth $66,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens cut their price target 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued 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.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE CI opened at $324.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $88.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $262.03 and a 52 week high of $370.83. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $303.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $314.31.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $6.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total value of $737,391.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,924.85. This represents a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.