Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 2,214 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,487 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,214 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $28,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CI. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter worth $731,041,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,939,554 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 590,063 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $176,694,000 after purchasing an additional 538,274 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in The Cigna Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,833,753 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,385,282,000 after purchasing an additional 345,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 127.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 566,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $169,558,000 after purchasing an additional 317,081 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of CI stock opened at $341.50 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $350.77 and a 200-day moving average of $319.71. The company has a market cap of $99.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $240.50 and a 52 week high of $365.71.

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

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be issued 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 currently 45.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CI shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded 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 report on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $370.00 in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned 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 a consensus price target of $366.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $694,668.96. 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, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total value of $340,959.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,564 shares of the company’s stock, 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 worth $39,296,330 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.