Farringdon Capital Ltd. Purchases New Shares in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,704 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $747,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CI. Sterling Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth about $4,367,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% in the 3rd 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. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 858 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 28.3% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 3,466 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens cut their price objective 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. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price target (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In related news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $3,182,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,289,920. The trade was a 42.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of CI opened at $329.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $90.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.51. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $314.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.19.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its 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 posted $6.79 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 49.35%.

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.