Searle & CO. Purchases 85 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Searle & CO. increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 7.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,197 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Searle & CO.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,793,138 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $9,731,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017,333 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,341,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,208,593,000 after buying an additional 867,180 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,006,348,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,682,061 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $803,143,000 after acquiring an additional 126,598 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total transaction of $1,654,322.95. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,923 shares in the company, valued at $13,773,834.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total transaction of $1,654,322.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,773,834.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 547 shares of the business’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 directly owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,812,979.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,033 shares of company stock worth $3,095,820. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

The Cigna Group stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $361.81. 1,148,195 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,533,250. The firm has a market cap of $102.78 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $342.69. The Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $253.95 and a 12 month high of $365.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.42 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $60.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.30 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is presently 45.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Baird R W raised shares of The Cigna Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $388.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $384.86.

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.