MBM Wealth Consultants LLC Makes New $973,000 Investment in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,254 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $973,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 19,710 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $5,902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $643,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $5,300,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 8,108 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,428,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:CI traded down $3.24 on Friday, hitting $349.84. 1,442,009 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,319,633. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $240.50 and a 1 year high of $365.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $346.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $313.73. The company has a market cap of $102.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.56.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $51.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.91 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 2.64%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.96 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group's payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $393.00 target price on the stock. 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 research note on Monday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $384.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $362.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other The Cigna Group news, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total value of $340,959.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,275,786.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $12,760,149.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at $110,394,985.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.