Providence Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 762 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $867,785,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $485,000. Homestead Advisers Corp raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp now owns 248,362 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $68,583,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200 shares during the period. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth $396,000. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 16,054 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,433,000 after buying an additional 3,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $3,182,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,289,920. This trade represents a 42.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Stephens decreased their price objective on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.25.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 1.1 %

CI stock opened at $324.74 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $262.03 and a twelve month high of $370.83. The company has a market cap of $88.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $303.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $314.31.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share 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 prior year, the firm earned $6.79 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.