Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $9.58 Million Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 22.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,990 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,961 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $9,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HealthInvest Partners AB bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,492,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 43.0% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 148,436 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $44,449,000 after purchasing an additional 44,659 shares during the period. Main Street Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $256,000. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 45,544 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $13,638,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. Finally, Eads & Heald Wealth Management grew its position in The Cigna Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 2,167 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on 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 target on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays assumed coverage on The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.14.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CI stock opened at $348.78 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $240.50 and a 52-week high of $365.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $348.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $101.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.56.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.96 earnings per share. The Cigna Group’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $15,275,786.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders sold 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.