Affinity Investment Advisors LLC Sells 227 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Affinity Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,557 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 227 shares during the quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 112.2% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 104 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 142 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $327.00 to $354.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $366.14.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

CI stock traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $335.98. 401,379 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,585,400. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $351.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $322.77. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $240.50 and a one year high of $365.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.57.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.30. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $57.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.47 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.98%.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In related news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 5,946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.71, for a total value of $2,073,429.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $904,902.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total value of $11,084,500.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,618,339.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 5,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.71, for a total value of $2,073,429.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $904,902.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 78,685 shares of company stock valued at $27,622,407. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.