PDS Planning Inc Sells 82 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

PDS Planning Inc decreased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,824 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 82 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,883 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 37 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 1.7 %

CI stock opened at $322.15 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $298.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.64. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $262.03 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 period last year, the firm earned $6.79 EPS. Analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is presently 49.35%.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,367,568.04. The trade was a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total value of $737,391.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price objective on The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $372.31.

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.