Main Street Research LLC Makes New $256,000 Investment in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Main Street Research LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 855 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 45,544 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $13,638,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 2,167 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $492,000. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 8,912 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,669,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 147,414 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $44,143,000 after acquiring an additional 11,416 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $330.00 to $372.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price target (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $384.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $362.14.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of The Cigna Group stock traded up $0.59 on Tuesday, hitting $349.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,039,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,597,384. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.56. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $240.50 and a twelve month high of $365.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $347.04 and a 200-day moving average of $314.14.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $48.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,394,985.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total transaction of $340,959.42. Following the completion of 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 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330 over the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.