The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Shares Bought by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,888 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,609 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $12,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CI. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the first quarter worth about $212,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 52.6% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 18,975 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,547,000 after acquiring an additional 6,538 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.5% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,212 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 36.5% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:CI traded up $1.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $350.31. 177,231 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,586,734. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $348.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.03. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $240.50 and a fifty-two week high of $365.71. The firm has a market cap of $102.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.56.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The business had revenue of $51.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.96 earnings per share. The Cigna Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,618,339.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total transaction of $11,084,500.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,618,339.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 6,083 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $2,068,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,649 shares in the company, valued at $15,180,660. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on 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. Mizuho boosted their price objective 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $370.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $362.14.

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.