Empirical Finance LLC Has $3.59 Million Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,374 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $3,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the first quarter worth $29,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 2,500.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 104 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the second quarter valued at about $66,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In other The Cigna Group news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total transaction of $922,151.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,264.52. This trade represents a 13.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $405.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com lowered The Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $394.00 target price (up from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.64.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of CI opened at $323.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $340.14 and a 200 day moving average of $340.02. The company has a market capitalization of $89.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.51. The Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $253.95 and a 12 month high of $370.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $7.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.22 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $63.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.58 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business’s revenue was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.83%.

About The Cigna Group

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.