J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,987 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 74 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adero Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 788 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,080 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,770 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,869,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 751 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CI shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial dropped their target price 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. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 target price (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.69.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:CI opened at $297.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $82.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66. 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 50-day simple moving average of $285.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $319.92.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.79 EPS. Analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is currently 49.35%.

The Cigna Group 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.