Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Raises Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 0.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 141,857 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. The Cigna Group makes up approximately 1.2% of Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $46,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,017,333 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 867,180 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 7,727,729 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,314,068,000 after acquiring an additional 97,277 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,006,348,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,682,061 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $803,143,000 after acquiring an additional 126,598 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Baird R W raised The Cigna Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $384.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $388.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $387.00.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE CI opened at $358.11 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $341.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $343.82. The Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $253.95 and a 12 month high of $370.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $100.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.50.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $60.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,773,834.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other The Cigna Group news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of The Cigna Group 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 in the company, valued at $13,773,834.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.38, for a total transaction of $181,264.86. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,812,979.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,033 shares of company stock valued at $2,757,740. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.