Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.81 Million Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 135.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,498 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,165 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $1,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 764,900 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $211,219,000 after acquiring an additional 188,235 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $15,721,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Humankind Investments LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 5,294 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,056 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $9,680,000 after acquiring an additional 3,484 shares during the period. Finally, Aubrey Capital Management Ltd grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 91.8% during the fourth quarter. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,849 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on The Cigna Group from $385.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Cigna Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $388.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on The Cigna Group from $388.00 to $362.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $380.39.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.2%

CI traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $311.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,048,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,694,268. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $323.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $309.15. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $262.03 and a 52 week high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.35 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $65.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.39 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. The Cigna Group's payout ratio is 33.44%.

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.