Ellsworth Advisors LLC Invests $4.38 Million in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 14,617 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,377,000. The Cigna Group makes up about 1.4% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 104.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 90 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 105 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CI has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $330.00 to $372.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price objective (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $335.00 to $341.00 in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $361.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total value of $340,959.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,275,786.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total value of $340,959.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,564 shares in the company, valued at $15,275,786.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total value of $11,084,500.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 348,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,618,339.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE CI traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $363.19. 1,162,695 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,589,122. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $333.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.47. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $240.50 and a 1-year high of $365.71. The firm has a market cap of $106.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.89, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 2.64%. The business had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.20%.

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.