SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Acquires New Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 335 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $93,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 65.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 27,887 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $7,701,000 after acquiring an additional 11,049 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at $428,000. Bailard Inc. raised its position in The Cigna Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,963 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 1.9 %

The Cigna Group stock opened at $321.48 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $262.03 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83. 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 company has a market cap of $87.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $292.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.35%.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $1,511,020.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on CI. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 price target (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $372.31.

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.