Lincoln National Corp Cuts Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Lincoln National Corp decreased its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,982 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 1,022 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $2,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,967,363 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,567,783,000 after buying an additional 1,939,554 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,833,753 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,385,282,000 after acquiring an additional 345,605 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,973,106 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,422,657,000 after purchasing an additional 225,115 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,244,157 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $928,056,000 after purchasing an additional 181,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the third quarter valued at about $731,041,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CI. Mizuho raised their price target on The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $355.00 to $370.00 in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two 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 has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $366.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of CI traded up $4.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $346.70. 1,567,886 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,590,111. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $350.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $98.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.57. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $240.50 and a 12-month high of $365.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $57.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.59 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.45 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.98%.

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.