The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Shares Acquired by Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,478,767 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,839 shares during the period. The Cigna Group accounts for approximately 1.3% of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned about 0.53% of The Cigna Group worth $408,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB grew its position in The Cigna Group by 88.0% in the fourth quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB now owns 78,385 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $21,645,000 after acquiring an additional 36,700 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 13,773 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,803,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth $24,849,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 607,272 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $167,692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 12,394 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 4.9 %

NYSE CI opened at $322.02 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $262.03 and a 52 week high of $370.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $308.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $313.00. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $88.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.50.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its 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 return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total value of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28 % 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 worth $13,603,991 over the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $373.25.

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.