Hills Bank & Trust Co Buys 49 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,959 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 26.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 570,283 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $197,569,000 after acquiring an additional 119,681 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 23.6% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 661 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 7,558 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 9.4% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 943 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the third quarter worth about $330,000. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CI. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial cut their price objective on 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. Stephens dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $3,182,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,406 shares in the company, valued at $4,289,920. The trade was a 42.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,375 shares of company stock worth $12,866,600 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of CI stock opened at $313.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $262.03 and a twelve month high of $370.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $296.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $316.52.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued 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 return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors 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 yield of 1.93%. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is currently 49.35%.

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.