Sentry Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 892 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CI. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,556,278 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $3,191,151,000 after purchasing an additional 501,320 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,054,959 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $2,224,296,000 after buying an additional 154,420 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,957,180 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,640,878,000 after acquiring an additional 101,737 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,021,582 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,110,520,000 after acquiring an additional 737,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $867,785,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on CI shares. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $388.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised The Cigna Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $380.39.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE CI traded up $0.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $311.68. 2,048,281 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,696,220. 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 quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $83.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $323.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $309.15.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.35 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $65.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.39 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. The firm's revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.47 EPS. Analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. The Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.