The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Holdings Decreased by Altfest L J & Co. Inc.

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 31.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,674 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 783 shares during the quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CI. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC now owns 112,541 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $31,579,000 after purchasing an additional 22,014 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,244,000. Dfpg Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 92.0% in the fourth quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.5% during the third quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 444,817 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $127,249,000 after acquiring an additional 6,365 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 132,461 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $37,893,000 after purchasing an additional 17,925 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $335.00 to $341.00 in a research note on Monday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price target (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $361.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total value of $1,608,446.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of The Cigna Group stock traded up $0.65 on Thursday, hitting $363.99. The stock had a trading volume of 481,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,647,126. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $332.16 and a 200 day moving average of $307.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $240.50 and a twelve month high of $365.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.55.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 2.64%. The company had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 32.20%.

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.