Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Increases Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,012 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $1,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CI. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 69.5% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 100 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 112.2% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 104 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 142 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on CI shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird began 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $432.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.20.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 2.4 %

CI stock traded down $7.67 on Friday, hitting $317.76. 329,053 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,600,875. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $253.95 and a twelve month high of $365.71. The business’s fifty day moving average is $339.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $333.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.52.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $56.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elder Granger sold 547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,812,979.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Elder Granger sold 547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,812,979.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 39,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,773,834.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,988 shares of company stock valued at $7,975,726. Company insiders own 0.70% 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.