Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 495,403 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 9,603 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $171,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CI. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in The Cigna Group by 4.4% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,872 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,916,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3,669.7% during the third quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 24,013 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $8,319,000 after purchasing an additional 23,376 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in The Cigna Group by 75.6% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 3,783 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the second quarter worth about $489,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 36.0% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,276 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,548,000 after purchasing an additional 4,043 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on The Cigna Group from $402.00 to $422.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut The Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $394.64.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI stock opened at $340.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $340.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $94.59 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.51. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $253.95 and a one year high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $7.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.22 by $0.29. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The company had revenue of $63.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.77 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 52.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total value of $922,151.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,264.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.