Farther Finance Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC reduced its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,813 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 64 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Adero Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.5% in the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 788 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.0% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,883 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,080 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens dropped their target price on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $372.31.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $313.35 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $85.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. 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 one year low of $262.03 and a one year high of $370.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $296.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $316.23.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company earned $6.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. 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. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,289,920. This trade represents a 42.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,375 shares of company stock worth $12,866,600 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.