Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Takes $397,000 Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,092 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $397,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CI. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 100,726 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $28,814,000 after acquiring an additional 3,968 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Omaha increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 2,542 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $359,000. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,869,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,601 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CI shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $432.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays started coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of The Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.20.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of CI opened at $325.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $92.58 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $340.69 and a 200 day moving average of $333.60. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $253.95 and a 52-week high of $365.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $57.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.59 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 1.76%. The Cigna Group’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total value of $1,654,322.95. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,923 shares in the company, valued at $13,773,834.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other The Cigna Group news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total value of $1,654,322.95. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,923 shares in the company, valued at $13,773,834.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 5,946 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.71, for a total value of $2,073,429.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $904,902.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,988 shares of company stock worth $7,975,726 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.