Delta Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Delta Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,364 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $1,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CI. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 154,255.6% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 11,947,096 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $963,542,000. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $731,041,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 13.8% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1,039.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 590,063 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $176,694,000 after buying an additional 538,274 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In related news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays started coverage on The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $372.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.14.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of CI traded up $3.76 during trading on Thursday, reaching $349.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 683,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,229. The company has a fifty day moving average of $347.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $314.79. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $240.50 and a twelve month high of $365.71. The company has a market cap of $102.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $51.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.96 EPS. The Cigna Group’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.20%.

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.