Western Financial Corp CA Boosts Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Western Financial Corp CA boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,643 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CI. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the second quarter valued at about $523,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 63,156 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $20,878,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 154.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 2,142 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.7% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,576,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 73,600 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after buying an additional 11,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CI. StockNews.com lowered shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $394.00 price target (up previously from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $380.27.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of CI opened at $293.99 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $262.03 and a 52 week high of $370.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $294.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $324.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its 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 net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 18.42%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.83%.

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.