New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 67.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 316 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $87,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Adero Partners LLC lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 4.5% in the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 788 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in The Cigna Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,883 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,080 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,770 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.31.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI opened at $299.92 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $262.03 and a 1 year high of $370.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.75%.

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.