Wedbush Securities Inc. Buys 2,573 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 44.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,330 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,573 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $2,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 100.0% during the first quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 70 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 100 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $384.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday. Baird R W upgraded The Cigna Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $387.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elder Granger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.08, for a total value of $338,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,849,635.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total value of $1,654,322.95. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,923 shares in the company, valued at $13,773,834.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.08, for a total transaction of $338,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,849,635.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,033 shares of company stock worth $3,095,820 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $357.61 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $341.24 and a 200 day moving average of $343.72. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $253.95 and a 52 week high of $370.64. The company has a market cap of $99.97 billion, a PE ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.30. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The company had revenue of $60.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.13 earnings per share. The Cigna Group’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.98%.

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.