North Star Investment Management Corp. Sells 105 Shares of Cigna Co. (NYSE:CI)

North Star Investment Management Corp. decreased its position in Cigna Co. (NYSE:CI) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 451 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Cigna were worth $94,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CI. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its stake in Cigna by 76.3% during the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 134 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Chiron Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cigna in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cigna in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Vigilant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cigna in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cigna in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 87.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

In related news, EVP Steven B. Miller sold 8,972 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $1,884,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,365,960. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy C. Wentworth sold 3,849 shares of Cigna stock in a transaction on Monday, December 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.63, for a total transaction of $779,922.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,004 shares in the company, valued at $9,524,420.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,091 shares of company stock worth $18,639,824 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CI shares. Raymond James raised their price target on Cigna from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Cigna from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Cigna from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Cigna from $253.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 11th. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Cigna from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Cigna presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.94.

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $223.81 on Thursday. Cigna Co. has a 12 month low of $118.50 and a 12 month high of $227.25. The company has a market cap of $80.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.07.

Cigna (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $4.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.25 by $0.16. Cigna had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 3.38%. The firm had revenue of $40.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cigna Co. will post 18.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 10th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 9th. This is a positive change from Cigna’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. Cigna’s dividend payout ratio is currently 0.23%.

About Cigna

Cigna Corporation provides insurance and related products and services. It operates through Health Services, Integrated Medical, International Markets, and Group Disability and Other segments. The Health Services segment provides pharmacy benefits management, specialty pharmacy services, clinical solutions, home delivery, and health management services.

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