GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Makes New Investment in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,212 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,992,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,556,278 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,191,151,000 after buying an additional 501,320 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,054,959 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,224,296,000 after acquiring an additional 154,420 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,957,180 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,640,878,000 after acquiring an additional 101,737 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,021,582 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,110,520,000 after acquiring an additional 737,099 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth about $867,785,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $316.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $84.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $262.03 and a 12 month high of $370.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $325.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $310.02.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.35 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $65.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.39 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.47 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 33.44%.

Insider Activity at The Cigna Group

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. This represents a 30.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 in the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CI shares. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on The Cigna Group from $348.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Stephens dropped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $379.33.

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.