Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 58,879 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 247,814 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 58,879 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $68,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CI. FMR LLC grew its position in The Cigna Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,230,397 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,929,978,000 after acquiring an additional 279,880 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,054,958 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,829,880,000 after purchasing an additional 130,048 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,855,443 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,021,563,000 after purchasing an additional 22,408 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,922,121 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,012,340,000 after buying an additional 59,011 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,168,959 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $751,414,000 after buying an additional 44,810 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $292.72 on Thursday. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $262.03 and a 1 year high of $370.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $288.17 and a 200 day moving average of $321.82. The stock has a market cap of $81.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.54.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its 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 net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 45.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CI. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Truist Financial reduced their price target on The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $373.69.

About The Cigna Group

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.