Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Buys 98 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,512 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in The Cigna Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,230,397 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,929,978,000 after purchasing an additional 279,880 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,054,958 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,829,880,000 after acquiring an additional 130,048 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,855,443 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,021,563,000 after acquiring an additional 22,408 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,922,121 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,012,340,000 after acquiring an additional 59,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 2.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,168,959 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $751,414,000 after purchasing an additional 44,810 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

NYSE:CI opened at $293.00 on Thursday. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $262.03 and a 52-week high of $370.83. The company has a market cap of $81.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $292.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $323.53.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CI. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $377.07.

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.