DnB Asset Management AS Buys 8,139 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,201 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,139 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $35,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 0.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 22,408 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 737,099 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $867,785,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,254,050 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $628,579,000 after purchasing an additional 374,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,168,959 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $751,414,000 after buying an additional 44,810 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $348.00 price objective (down previously from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $373.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $1,511,020.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $3,182,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,289,920. The trade was a 42.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 1.1 %

CI stock opened at $324.74 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $262.03 and a twelve month high of $370.83. The company has a market cap of $88.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $303.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $314.31.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company earned $6.79 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.35%.

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.