Empirical Finance LLC Acquires 347 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,155 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $4,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 100.0% during the first quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 70 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 100 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded The Cigna Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of The Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on The Cigna Group from $432.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $376.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 10,700 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.47, for a total value of $3,728,629.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,514,189.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Elder Granger sold 547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.38, for a total value of $181,264.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,812,979.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 10,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.47, for a total value of $3,728,629.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,514,189.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,988 shares of company stock worth $7,975,726. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CI traded up $1.23 on Friday, reaching $334.79. 817,454 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,603,542. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $336.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $334.82. The Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $253.95 and a 12 month high of $365.71. The company has a market cap of $95.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.30. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The company had revenue of $57.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.41 EPS. The Cigna Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.98%.

The Cigna Group Company 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.