Davis Selected Advisers Sells 8,075 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Davis Selected Advisers trimmed its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,431,796 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 8,075 shares during the quarter. The Cigna Group comprises about 2.3% of Davis Selected Advisers’ holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Davis Selected Advisers’ holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $395,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 26.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 570,283 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $197,569,000 after buying an additional 119,681 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,137 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,807,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,064 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at $9,065,198.52. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

The Cigna Group stock opened at $321.48 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $262.03 and a one year high of $370.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $292.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $317.89. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $89.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $6.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on CI. StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $372.31.

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.