Dodge & Cox Lowers Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Dodge & Cox lessened its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,772,608 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 16,806 shares during the quarter. The Cigna Group comprises 1.4% of Dodge & Cox's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Dodge & Cox owned approximately 3.15% of The Cigna Group worth $2,422,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CI shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $384.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $348.00 price target (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $373.56.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

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

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CI traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $329.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,847,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,694,350. 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 has a 52 week low of $262.03 and a 52 week high of $370.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $315.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $310.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.51.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 earned $6.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from The Cigna Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio 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.