Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 505,006 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 43,476 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of The Cigna Group worth $166,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 70 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 100 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, August 19th. Baird R W upgraded shares of The Cigna Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $388.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $384.86.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In other news, Director Elder Granger sold 547 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.38, for a total value of $181,264.86. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,812,979.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Elder Granger sold 547 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.38, for a total value of $181,264.86. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,812,979.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total transaction of $922,151.88. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,264.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,033 shares of company stock valued at $3,095,820 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE CI opened at $353.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $100.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $340.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $343.60. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $253.95 and a one year high of $370.64.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.42 by $0.30. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The firm had revenue of $60.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.98%.

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.