Cornerstone Advisors LLC Increases Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,000 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $4,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings 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 last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.9% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,497 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 44.5% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 3,089 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 952 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the third quarter worth about $563,000. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 802.6% in the third quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 7,501 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,599,000 after purchasing an additional 6,670 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $348.00 target price (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $8,173,499.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $326.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $293.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $317.40. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $262.03 and a 52 week high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $1.51 dividend. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.35%.

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.