Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 108 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,376 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $4,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CI. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,076 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,083 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 13.6% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,225 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 21.8% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,775 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 103,777 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $29,687,000 after acquiring an additional 9,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CI shares. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $370.00 in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays assumed coverage on The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.14.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total transaction of $11,084,500.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 348,054 shares in the company, valued at $123,618,339.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE CI opened at $341.50 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $350.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $319.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.71. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $240.50 and a one year high of $365.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.30. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The business had revenue of $57.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.98%.

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.