Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 148 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,605 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 148 shares during the quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $1,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Adero Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 788 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,883 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,080 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CI. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 target price on The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 target price (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The Cigna Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $372.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of CI stock opened at $308.90 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $262.03 and a 12-month high of $370.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $290.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.11.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company posted $6.79 earnings per share. Equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend 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.