Flputnam Investment Management Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,945 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 424 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CI. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at $4,377,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth $2,811,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 293,438 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $87,870,000 after acquiring an additional 66,891 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth $2,244,000. Finally, Dfpg Investments LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 92.0% during the 4th quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 3,430 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total value of $1,608,446.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on CI. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $370.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.14.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $345.86 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $347.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.79. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $240.50 and a 52-week high of $365.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $51.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.91 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 2.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 earnings per share 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. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

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.