New England Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

New England Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 29.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,835 shares of the health services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,270 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $5,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $867,785,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $724,517,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $313,911,000. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,021,582 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,110,520,000 after buying an additional 737,099 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,556,278 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $3,191,151,000 after buying an additional 501,320 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $360.00 price objective (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $379.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $3,182,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,289,920. This represents a 42.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the company'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 transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991 in the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

NYSE CI traded up $11.82 on Friday, hitting $320.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,055,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,714,979. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $262.03 and a 52-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 capitalization of $85.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $324.94 and a 200-day moving average of $309.85.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. The company had revenue of $65.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.47 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 3rd. The Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.44%.

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.