Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Has $562,000 Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,033 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 35 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CI. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,556,278 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,191,151,000 after purchasing an additional 501,320 shares during the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $248,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,957,180 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,640,878,000 after buying an additional 101,737 shares during the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in The Cigna Group by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 3,883 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 264,097 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $72,931,000 after acquiring an additional 55,522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE CI opened at $332.09 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $90.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $307.29 and a 200-day moving average of $313.13. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share 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 period last year, the firm earned $6.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CI. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.25.

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.