Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Buys Shares of 1,998 The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,998 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $692,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Visionary Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 3,145 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 46,983 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $14,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776 shares during the period. Credit Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth $210,000. 8 Knots Management LLC bought a new position in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth $67,709,000. Finally, Cobalt Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth $2,396,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $343.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $348.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $344.90. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $253.95 and a twelve month high of $370.83. The firm has a market cap of $97.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.50.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.42 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $60.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.30 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 45.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on CI shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $384.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $402.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $392.79.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In other news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total transaction of $922,151.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,264.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.