Meeder Asset Management Inc. Reduces Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,080 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 4,720 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $1,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth $4,367,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 323,911 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $112,216,000 after buying an additional 11,228 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 75,837 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $20,942,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in The Cigna Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $15,721,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in The Cigna Group by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 15,713 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,466 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,924.85. The trade was a 30.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CI shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of 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. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $373.25.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:CI opened at $324.97 on Monday. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $262.03 and a 52-week 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $313.47. The company has a market capitalization of $88.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. 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.