Amundi Has $628.58 Million Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Amundi raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,254,050 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 374,865 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $628,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,367,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 323,911 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $112,216,000 after purchasing an additional 11,228 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 75,837 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $20,942,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $15,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 15,713 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,466 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of 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 current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $89.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $292.84 and a 200-day moving average of $317.89.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its 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 period last year, the firm posted $6.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CI. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial decreased 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.31.

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.