Wells Fargo & Company MN Has $167.69 Million Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 607,272 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,155 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.22% of The Cigna Group worth $167,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CI. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the third quarter worth $730,000. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $444,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its stake in The Cigna Group by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,173 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 995.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 215,900 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $74,796,000 after purchasing an additional 196,200 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 23.9% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 43,232 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $13,803,000 after purchasing an additional 8,343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 target price (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.25.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of CI opened at $322.02 on Friday. 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 Cigna Group has a one year low of $262.03 and a one year high of $370.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $308.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $312.70. The company has a market capitalization of $88.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.50.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 posted $6.79 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,065,198.52. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total value of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991. 0.70% of the stock is 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.