The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Shares Acquired by Capital Analysts LLC

Capital Analysts LLC boosted its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,912 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 158 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $2,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 154,255.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,954,841 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,961,117,000 after buying an additional 11,947,096 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth about $963,542,000. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $731,041,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,967,363 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,567,783,000 after buying an additional 1,939,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 590,063 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $176,694,000 after buying an additional 538,274 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE CI opened at $354.15 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $347.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $240.50 and a one year high of $365.71. The firm has a market cap of $103.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.56.

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

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CI. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price target (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $384.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.14.

Insider Activity

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 6,083 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $2,068,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 44,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,180,660. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.