PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 318,024 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 44,315 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of The Cigna Group worth $87,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $313,911,000. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 884,406 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $244,220,000 after purchasing an additional 314,123 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,230,397 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,929,978,000 after purchasing an additional 279,880 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 34,280.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 238,603 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $65,888,000 after purchasing an additional 237,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 497,875 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $137,483,000 after purchasing an additional 202,161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $321.48 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $292.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $317.71. The firm has a market cap of $87.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

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 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $6.79 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $8,173,499.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the company’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 transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This trade 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CI shares. 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 for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price objective on The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, 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. Two research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $372.31.

About The Cigna Group

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.