Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Cuts Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,517 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 1,220 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $8,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 8.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,793,138 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $9,731,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017,333 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,341,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,208,593,000 after purchasing an additional 867,180 shares in the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 1st quarter worth $205,529,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the first quarter worth $161,300,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 286.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 392,673 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $129,806,000 after purchasing an additional 290,968 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on CI shares. Baird R W raised The Cigna Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on The Cigna Group from $402.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price target on The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $392.79.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $356.21 on Wednesday. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $253.95 and a one year high of $370.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $345.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $344.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.30. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 1.70%. The firm had revenue of $60.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total value of $1,654,322.95. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,773,834.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total value of $1,654,322.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,923 shares in the company, valued at $13,773,834.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total value of $922,151.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,264.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.