Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,978,465 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,414 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.68% of The Cigna Group worth $592,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 135,998 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $38,679,000 after buying an additional 5,863 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in The Cigna Group by 20.5% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 954 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 165,171 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $47,250,000 after purchasing an additional 15,294 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 1,315 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 16,616 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,753,000 after buying an additional 1,971 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 1.3 %

CI traded up $4.29 on Tuesday, reaching $346.70. 1,548,683 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,590,111. The company has a market cap of $98.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $240.50 and a twelve month high of $365.71. The company’s 50 day moving average is $350.89 and its 200-day moving average is $320.21.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.30. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The business had revenue of $57.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.45 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CI. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total value of $1,608,446.16. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total transaction of $340,959.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,275,786.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.