Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $249,000 Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 83.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 900 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 4,497 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,230,397 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,929,978,000 after acquiring an additional 279,880 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,054,958 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,829,880,000 after purchasing an additional 130,048 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,855,443 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,021,563,000 after purchasing an additional 22,408 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,922,121 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,012,340,000 after buying an additional 59,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in The Cigna Group by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,254,050 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $628,579,000 after buying an additional 374,865 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

NYSE CI opened at $313.35 on Monday. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $296.79 and a 200-day moving average of $316.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $85.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $8,173,499.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $3,182,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,289,920. This trade represents a 42.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,375 shares of company stock worth $12,866,600. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $372.31.

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.