The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Shares Purchased by Ruffer LLP

Ruffer LLP raised its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 601,066 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,302 shares during the period. The Cigna Group comprises 6.0% of Ruffer LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Ruffer LLP’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $165,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CI. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 26.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 570,283 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $197,569,000 after buying an additional 119,681 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,137 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,807,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,064 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 323,911 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $112,216,000 after purchasing an additional 11,228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,065,198.52. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CI has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $372.31.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of CI stock opened at $321.48 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $292.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.71. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $262.03 and a 52 week high of $370.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $87.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

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 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.35%.

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.