Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Decreases Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,962,479 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 1,117,751 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 3.94% of The Cigna Group worth $3,027,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 924 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,491 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its position in The Cigna Group by 262.1% during the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 16,102 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $4,446,000 after purchasing an additional 11,655 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in The Cigna Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,496 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,898,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in The Cigna Group by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,192 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at The Cigna Group

In related news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total value of $737,391.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the business'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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of CI stock traded down $1.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $334.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 369,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,698,433. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $319.82 and a 200 day moving average of $310.16. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $262.03 and a 12-month high of $370.83. The stock has a market cap of $91.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.51.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $6.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. The Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on The Cigna Group from $388.00 to $362.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $373.56.

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.