Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Buys 501,320 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,556,278 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 501,320 shares during the period. The Cigna Group comprises 1.0% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $3,191,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,957,180 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,640,878,000 after acquiring an additional 101,737 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in The Cigna Group by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,021,582 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,110,520,000 after purchasing an additional 737,099 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $867,785,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in The Cigna Group by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,927,223 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $808,323,000 after buying an additional 286,515 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,254,050 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $628,579,000 after buying an additional 374,865 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $348.00 price target (down previously from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.25.

Insider Activity at The Cigna Group

In other news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 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 transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. The trade was a 14.29 % 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 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

The Cigna Group stock opened at $330.97 on Wednesday. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $262.03 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $306.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $313.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $90.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.79 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 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 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.35%.

The Cigna Group 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.