Xponance Inc. Buys 612 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,583 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $12,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 26.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 570,283 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $197,569,000 after purchasing an additional 119,681 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.7% in the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 4,072 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the third quarter worth about $358,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the third quarter worth about $454,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 353.5% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,800 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,088,000 after purchasing an additional 9,198 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE CI opened at $322.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. 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 Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $298.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.64.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its 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 return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.79 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is presently 49.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CI shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $348.00 target price (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.31.

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.