Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Invests $206,000 in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 566 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 7,727,729 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,314,068,000 after buying an additional 97,277 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,973,106 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,422,657,000 after acquiring an additional 225,115 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,006,348,000. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,682,061 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $803,143,000 after purchasing an additional 126,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,978,465 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $592,451,000 after purchasing an additional 53,414 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on CI shares. StockNews.com cut shares of The Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on The Cigna Group in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $388.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Barclays started coverage on The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of The Cigna Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Two research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.20.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $337.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $342.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $332.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.53. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $253.95 and a 52 week high of $365.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.30. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company had revenue of $57.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.98%.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 5,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.71, for a total value of $2,073,429.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $904,902.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other The Cigna Group news, Director Elder Granger sold 547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.38, for a total transaction of $181,264.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,812,979.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 5,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.71, for a total transaction of $2,073,429.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,595 shares in the company, valued at $904,902.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,988 shares of company stock worth $7,975,726 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.