South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 22.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,906 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 1,702 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $1,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth about $495,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,343 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 967,477 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $289,711,000 after purchasing an additional 69,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 4,341 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of CI opened at $352.27 on Thursday. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $240.50 and a twelve month high of $365.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $349.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.56. 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 (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The firm had revenue of $51.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.96 EPS. The Cigna Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho upped 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $372.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays began coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $370.00 in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other The Cigna Group news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total value of $1,608,446.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at $694,668.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at $110,394,985.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330 in the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.