The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Shares Purchased by Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.

Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 967 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 2,123 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 784 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, E&G Advisors LP boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 2,137 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $370.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (up previously from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.14.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

CI traded down $0.48 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $352.70. 1,188,485 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,594,390. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.56. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $240.50 and a 1-year high of $365.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $349.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $316.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $51.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.91 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 2.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 32.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total transaction of $11,084,500.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,618,339.18. 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total value of $11,084,500.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,618,339.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total value of $1,608,446.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 valued at $39,296,330 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.