Coign Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $527,000 Investment in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Coign Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,907 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $527,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,367,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 323,911 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $112,216,000 after acquiring an additional 11,228 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 75,837 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $20,942,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $15,721,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 15,713 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,466 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CI. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research 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. Stephens reduced their price target on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $374.44.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $327.31 on Friday. 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 $311.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.44. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $262.03 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83. The firm has a market cap of $89.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.51.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $6.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. 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 Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 49.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,924.85. This represents a 30.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company 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.