GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,517 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $7,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CI. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,230,397 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,929,978,000 after purchasing an additional 279,880 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1.2% in 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 buying an additional 130,048 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $2,021,563,000 after buying an additional 22,408 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.1% during the third 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 period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.1% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 44,810 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of 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. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $373.69.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $293.00 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $291.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $323.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.54. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $262.03 and a 52-week high of $370.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66.

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 (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 firm earned $6.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.75%.

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.