S.A. Mason LLC Lowers Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

S.A. Mason LLC cut its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,228 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CI. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in The Cigna Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 2,123 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Linscomb & Williams Inc. increased its position in The Cigna Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Linscomb & Williams Inc. now owns 10,877 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,604,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Gray Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in The Cigna Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc. now owns 890 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wambolt & Associates LLC boosted its position in The Cigna Group by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 2,536 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 target price (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $330.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.29.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI opened at $363.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $240.50 and a 1 year high of $364.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $332.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.08. The stock has a market cap of $106.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.55.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 2.64%. The business had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.20%.

Insider Activity at The Cigna Group

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at $110,394,985.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total transaction of $340,959.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,564 shares in the company, valued at $15,275,786.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330. Insiders own 0.60% 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.