National Pension Service Purchases 9,750 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

National Pension Service grew its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 628,867 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,750 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $173,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 55.1% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 884,406 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $244,220,000 after acquiring an additional 314,123 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,230,397 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,929,978,000 after acquiring an additional 279,880 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 497,875 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $137,483,000 after acquiring an additional 202,161 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $69,972,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 995.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 215,900 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $74,796,000 after purchasing an additional 196,200 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of CI stock opened at $305.15 on Thursday. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $262.03 and a 12-month high of $370.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $84.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $288.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $318.98.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 EPS 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 quarter last year, the company earned $6.79 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their target price on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.