Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Buys 501,320 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,556,278 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 501,320 shares during the period. The Cigna Group accounts for about 1.0% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 4.15% of The Cigna Group worth $3,191,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price target on The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.25.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI opened at $330.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $306.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $313.00. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $262.03 and a twelve month high of $370.83. 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 company has a market capitalization of $90.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is 49.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,367,568.04. This trade represents a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. The trade was 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 quarter. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Cigna Group Company 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.