Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Has $1.15 Million Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,158 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $1,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CI. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 56.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 261 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 246 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 19,946 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $6,910,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.5% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,603 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,020,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $324.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $304.67 and a 200-day moving average of $314.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $262.03 and a 12 month high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CI. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 target price (down previously from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $373.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of The Cigna Group 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 approximately $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.