Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 150 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,280 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 8.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,793,138 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $9,731,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,333 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 6.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,341,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,208,593,000 after buying an additional 867,180 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 7,727,729 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,314,068,000 after buying an additional 97,277 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,006,348,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,682,061 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $803,143,000 after acquiring an additional 126,598 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $387.00.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 1.2 %

CI opened at $362.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $343.27 and a 200-day moving average of $344.04. The company has a market capitalization of $102.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.50. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $253.95 and a fifty-two week high of $370.64. 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 Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $60.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.30 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The business’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total value of $1,654,322.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,773,834.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total value of $1,654,322.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,773,834.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,264.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,033 shares of company stock valued at $2,757,740 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.