MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC Takes $43,000 Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 142 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $43,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CI. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 135,998 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $38,679,000 after purchasing an additional 5,863 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in The Cigna Group by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 954 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its stake in The Cigna Group by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 165,171 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $47,250,000 after acquiring an additional 15,294 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY grew its stake in The Cigna Group by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,315 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC grew its stake in The Cigna Group by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 16,616 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,753,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on CI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 target price (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Barclays started coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.14.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:CI traded up $2.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $344.84. 345,112 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,575,849. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $240.50 and a 12-month high of $365.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $350.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $319.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.57.

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

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,618,339.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total value of $1,608,446.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total transaction of $11,084,500.53. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.