Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 230.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,261 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,414 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $22,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CI. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 70 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 69.5% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 100 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CI. Oppenheimer increased their target price on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on The Cigna Group in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $388.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Baird R W upgraded The Cigna Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 5,946 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $904,902.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 5,946 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.71, for a total transaction of $2,073,429.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,595 shares in the company, valued at $904,902.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total value of $1,654,322.95. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,773,834.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,988 shares of company stock worth $7,975,726. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CI traded up $4.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $337.33. The company had a trading volume of 3,193,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,247,865. The stock has a market cap of $95.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.52. The Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $253.95 and a 12 month high of $365.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $335.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $338.73.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $60.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.30 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 1.70%. The business’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.4 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.98%.

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.