Long Focus Capital Management LLC Takes Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Long Focus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 17,700 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,888,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CI. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $444,000. Advisory Resource Group raised its position in The Cigna Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 13,163 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,560,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 39.6% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 17,173 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 4,870 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 7.9% during the third quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 20,330 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $7,003,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 28.3% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 15,713 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,444,000 after buying an additional 3,466 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 3.7 %

CI opened at $336.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $262.03 and a one year high of $370.83. The company has a market cap of $92.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $317.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $310.60.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 49.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CI. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $388.00 to $362.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.56.

The Cigna Group Company 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.