Harfst & Associates Inc. Sells 4,753 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Harfst & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 83.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 951 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 4,753 shares during the quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,367,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3,669.7% during the third quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 24,013 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $8,319,000 after purchasing an additional 23,376 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $112,216,000 after purchasing an additional 11,228 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $20,942,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $15,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on 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. StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.31.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 2.8 %

CI stock opened at $305.15 on Thursday. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $288.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $318.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.