Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 36.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,085 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 634 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 154,255.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,954,841 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,961,117,000 after purchasing an additional 11,947,096 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $963,542,000. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $731,041,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,967,363 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,567,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in The Cigna Group by 1,039.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 590,063 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $176,694,000 after purchasing an additional 538,274 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CI shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price objective (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Barclays initiated coverage on The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of The Cigna Group 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 1.6 %

The Cigna Group stock opened at $354.50 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $347.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $314.14. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $240.50 and a 52-week high of $365.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $103.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.56.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its 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 net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The business had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 32.20%.

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.