Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Increases Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 80.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,760 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,046 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $4,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. now owns 7,569 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Lansing Street Advisors lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 125.5% during the fourth quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 1,935 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,007 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 800 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $348.00 price target (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $372.31.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

NYSE CI opened at $299.92 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $286.35 and a 200 day moving average of $319.47. The company has a market capitalization of $83.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $262.03 and a one year high of $370.83. 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 (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is currently 49.35%.

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.