Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 75,615 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 5,385 shares during the period. The Cigna Group comprises approximately 1.5% of Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $22,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $4,377,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth about $2,244,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 293,438 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $87,870,000 after buying an additional 66,891 shares during the period. Dfpg Investments LLC lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 92.0% during the fourth quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 121,836 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $36,478,000 after buying an additional 3,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $384.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded The Cigna Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $330.00 to $372.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $392.00 target price (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded The Cigna Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $362.14.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CI traded down $3.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $349.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,441,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,609,296. The company has a market capitalization of $102.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $345.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $313.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $240.50 and a one year high of $365.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The business had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.96 EPS. The Cigna Group's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This is an increase from The Cigna Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total transaction of $340,959.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,564 shares in the company, valued at $15,275,786.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total transaction of $340,959.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,275,786.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at $694,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.