Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 68.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 497,875 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 202,161 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.18% of The Cigna Group worth $137,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,029,000. Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth about $274,000. Wynn Capital LLC raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 3,416 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in The Cigna Group by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 687 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $394.00 target price (up from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The Cigna Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.93.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

The Cigna Group stock opened at $284.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $303.49 and a 200-day moving average of $327.70. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $262.03 and a 52-week high of $370.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.54.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $59.58 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 1.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.77 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.