National Bank of Canada FI Cuts Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 227,543 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 24,710 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $70,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 9,307 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,772,000 after acquiring an additional 3,539 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,377,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,811,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 293,438 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $87,870,000 after buying an additional 66,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,244,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total value of $1,608,446.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total value of $1,608,446.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,668.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CI shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays began coverage on The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $370.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $366.14.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CI traded down $3.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $341.50. The company had a trading volume of 2,413,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,380,653. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.57. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $240.50 and a twelve month high of $365.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $350.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $319.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $57.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.59 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.45 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.