Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 1,983 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,032 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,983 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $5,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CI. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 61.4% during the 4th quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 9,307 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,772,000 after buying an additional 3,539 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,377,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,811,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in The Cigna Group by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 293,438 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $87,870,000 after acquiring an additional 66,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,244,000. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CI shares. StockNews.com upgraded The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price objective (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $370.00 in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Two investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $366.14.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,394,985.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were 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 $15,275,786.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of The Cigna Group stock traded up $4.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $346.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,548,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,590,111. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $240.50 and a 12-month high of $365.71. The firm has a market cap of $98.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $350.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $320.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

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

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

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