Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Buys Shares of 685 The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 685 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CI. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 9,307 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,772,000 after buying an additional 3,539 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $4,377,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,811,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 293,438 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $87,870,000 after acquiring an additional 66,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,244,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (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 lifted their price target for the stock from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $366.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at $694,668.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other 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 completion of 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 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 dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 worth $39,296,330 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI stock opened at $342.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $240.50 and a 1 year high of $365.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $350.77 and a 200 day moving average of $319.93. The company has a market cap of $97.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.57.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $57.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.59 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.45 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.98%.

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.