HTLF Bank Makes New $281,000 Investment in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

HTLF Bank bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 937 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CI. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 1st quarter valued at $212,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group during the first quarter worth $40,000. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 52.6% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 18,975 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,547,000 after buying an additional 6,538 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 6.5% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,212 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,265,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 36.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $352.39 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $240.50 and a 52 week high of $365.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $348.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $315.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The firm had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.96 earnings per share. The Cigna Group’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other The Cigna Group news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $370.00 in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $384.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $372.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.14.

The Cigna Group Company 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.