Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Invests $471,000 in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position 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 fund purchased 1,573 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CI. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $731,041,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $4,567,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,939,554 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $176,694,000 after purchasing an additional 538,274 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in The Cigna Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,833,753 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,385,282,000 after purchasing an additional 345,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in The Cigna Group by 127.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 566,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $169,558,000 after purchasing an additional 317,081 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at $110,394,985.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at $110,394,985.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total value of $340,959.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,275,786.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on CI shares. StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $370.00 in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $327.00 to $354.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.14.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CI traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $354.47. The company had a trading volume of 830,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,260,787. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $240.50 and a twelve month high of $365.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $103.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $349.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.80.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 2.64%. The firm had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. On average, research analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 32.20%.

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.