Raymond James & Associates Acquires 257,711 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 42.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 860,050 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 257,711 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $297,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,872 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,916,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 75.6% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 3,783 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 2nd quarter worth $489,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 21.7% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,453 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $34,304,000 after acquiring an additional 16,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,276 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $5,548,000 after purchasing an additional 4,043 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on The Cigna Group from $402.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. 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. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $384.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $392.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total value of $922,151.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,010,264.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of CI traded down $17.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $336.00. 2,712,344 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,480,892. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $95.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $350.66 and its 200-day moving average is $344.42. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $253.95 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $60.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.30 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 1.70%. The Cigna Group’s revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 45.98%.

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.