Focused Investors LLC Increases Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Focused Investors LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 587,450 shares of the health services provider's stock after buying an additional 47,550 shares during the quarter. The Cigna Group comprises about 5.1% of Focused Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Focused Investors LLC owned 0.21% of The Cigna Group worth $162,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CI. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,589,000. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $422,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,363 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $7,280,000 after acquiring an additional 8,236 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 19,128 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $5,282,000 after acquiring an additional 5,137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on CI shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $373.25.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CI traded down $3.76 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $316.64. 1,051,830 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,564,847. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $314.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 prior year, the firm earned $6.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio is 49.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $3,182,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,289,920. This represents a 42.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Cigna Group Company 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.