Scotia Capital Inc. Decreases Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Scotia Capital Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,650 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 226 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $4,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $867,785,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth about $313,911,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,021,582 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,110,520,000 after purchasing an additional 737,099 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,556,278 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,191,151,000 after purchasing an additional 501,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in The Cigna Group by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,254,050 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $628,579,000 after buying an additional 374,865 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at The Cigna Group

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at $39,367,568.04. This trade represents a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens decreased their target price on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 target price (down previously from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price objective on The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $375.00.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $329.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.51. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $312.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $311.31. 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 Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.79 EPS. 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. 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%.

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.