Van ECK Associates Corp Has $4.12 Million Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,907 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $4,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised 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 worth $138,590,000 after acquiring an additional 399,230 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in The Cigna Group by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 497,875 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $137,483,000 after purchasing an additional 202,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter worth $69,972,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on CI. Barclays lowered their target price on 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $373.69.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $297.27 on Thursday. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $262.03 and a 1 year 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 company has a market capitalization of $82.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $285.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $319.92.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 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 quarter last year, the company earned $6.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.