Lipe & Dalton Has $1.61 Million Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Lipe & Dalton decreased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,832 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 199 shares during the quarter. Lipe & Dalton’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $1,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,230,397 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,929,978,000 after buying an additional 279,880 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 1.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 130,048 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,855,443 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,021,563,000 after purchasing an additional 22,408 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 2.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 59,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 2.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 44,810 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of CI opened at $299.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $83.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. 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 has a 52 week low of $262.03 and a 52 week high of $370.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.60.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released 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 last year, the firm earned $6.79 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is 45.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CI shares. StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.69.

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.