Violich Capital Management Inc. Sells 7,812 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Violich Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 84.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,453 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 7,812 shares during the period. Violich Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 49,287.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 400,040 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $138,590,000 after purchasing an additional 399,230 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 55.1% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 884,406 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $244,220,000 after purchasing an additional 314,123 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,230,397 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $4,929,978,000 after purchasing an additional 279,880 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 42.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 860,050 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $297,956,000 after purchasing an additional 257,711 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 497,875 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $137,483,000 after acquiring an additional 202,161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $360.00 price objective (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of The Cigna Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $323.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $373.69.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 2.6 %

The Cigna Group stock traded down $7.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $292.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,579,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,813,736. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $286.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $321.46. The firm has a market cap of $81.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.54. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $262.03 and a twelve month high of $370.83. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the business posted $6.79 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. This is an increase 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.