Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC Takes $476,000 Position in Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Key Points

• Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC has acquired a new stake in Cigna Group, purchasing 1,446 shares valued at approximately $476,000.
• Several research analysts have issued positive ratings for Cigna, with a majority assigning a buy rating and an average target price of $377.72.
• Cigna reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $7.20, exceeding expectations, and plans to distribute a quarterly dividend of $1.51 on September 18th.

Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,446 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CI. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Cigna Group by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 764,900 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $211,219,000 after acquiring an additional 188,235 shares during the last quarter. Humankind Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 5,294 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,462,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cigna Group in the first quarter valued at about $123,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 18.8% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 398 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 113,584 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $37,369,000 after buying an additional 2,614 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CI shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cigna Group from $379.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $371.00 target price on shares of Cigna Group in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Cigna Group from $385.00 to $354.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Cigna Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $378.33.

Cigna Group Price Performance

CI traded up $3.45 on Thursday, hitting $290.55. 1,978,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,854,190. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The business's fifty day moving average is $302.73 and its 200 day moving average is $311.22. Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $256.89 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.47.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.15 by $0.05. Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The company had revenue of $67.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.72 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.97%.

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.