Quest Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 11,680.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,715 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,658 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $2,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,108,000. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in The Cigna Group by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 347 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in The Cigna Group by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 5,656 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaStar Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 2,786 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on The Cigna Group in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $388.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $384.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elder Granger sold 547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.38, for a total transaction of $181,264.86. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,812,979.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other The Cigna Group news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total transaction of $1,654,322.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,773,834.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.38, for a total value of $181,264.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,812,979.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,033 shares of company stock worth $3,095,820. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CI stock opened at $353.49 on Monday. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $253.95 and a fifty-two week high of $370.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $340.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $343.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.50. 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 Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $60.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.98%.

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.