J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Purchases 440 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 23.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,285 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $684,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CI. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC now owns 5,932 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 23,637 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 4,009 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 617.2% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,488 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 6,444 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $353.18 on Tuesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $348.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $316.39. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $240.50 and a one year high of $365.71. The firm has a market cap of $103.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.56.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 2.64%. The firm had revenue of $51.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. 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 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. 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 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123,618,339.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123,618,339.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total value of $340,959.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,564 shares in the company, valued at $15,275,786.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on 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. Barclays began coverage on 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. Mizuho increased their price target on The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.14.

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.