FourThought Financial Partners LLC Increases Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,787 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $731,041,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,967,363 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,567,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939,554 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in The Cigna Group by 1,039.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 590,063 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $176,694,000 after purchasing an additional 538,274 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,833,753 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,385,282,000 after buying an additional 345,605 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 127.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 566,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $169,558,000 after buying an additional 317,081 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total value of $11,084,500.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123,618,339.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total value of $11,084,500.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,618,339.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

NYSE:CI traded down $3.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $341.50. 2,413,548 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,380,653. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $350.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $319.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $99.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.57. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $240.50 and a one year high of $365.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.30. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The company had revenue of $57.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.45 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on CI. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (up previously from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $355.00 to $370.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $366.14.

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.