Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 1,239 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,513 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 1,239 shares during the quarter. The Cigna Group makes up approximately 0.8% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $13,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 104.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 90 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 105 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,394,985.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $335.00 to $341.00 in a report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $372.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $361.29.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $363.38 on Thursday. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $240.50 and a 52-week high of $364.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $332.16 and a 200 day moving average of $307.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The business had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.20%.

The Cigna Group Company 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.