Bessemer Group Inc. Trims Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,133 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 1,289 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $7,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CI. Sterling Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $4,367,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $112,216,000 after purchasing an additional 11,228 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.1% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 858 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in The Cigna Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $15,721,000 after buying an additional 1,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 28.3% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 15,713 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $5,444,000 after buying an additional 3,466 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on The Cigna Group from $388.00 to $362.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on The Cigna Group from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $373.56.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of CI stock traded up $0.87 on Wednesday, hitting $329.50. 1,311,497 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,687,298. The firm has a market cap of $90.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.51. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $313.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.06. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $262.03 and a 52 week high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the firm posted $6.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from The Cigna Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 127,767 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,924.85. This represents a 30.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.