HTLF Bank Purchases Shares of 937 The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 937 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 154,255.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,954,841 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,961,117,000 after acquiring an additional 11,947,096 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth $963,542,000. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter worth $731,041,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,967,363 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,567,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 590,063 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $176,694,000 after acquiring an additional 538,274 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at $694,668.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total transaction of $11,084,500.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 348,054 shares in the company, valued at $123,618,339.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $352.39 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $240.50 and a fifty-two week high of $365.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $348.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.48. The company has a market capitalization of $103.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The business had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $384.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $362.14.

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.