Cigna Group $CI Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,070,738 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 226,257 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Cigna Group were worth $291,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CI. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Cigna Group by 3.7% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,438,250 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $6,461,457,000 after buying an additional 840,098 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Cigna Group during the second quarter worth $1,628,918,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Cigna Group by 8.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,182,083 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $848,821,000 after buying an additional 256,677 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Cigna Group by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,426,218 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $647,008,000 after acquiring an additional 236,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $542,779,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Cigna Group from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cigna Group in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $362.00 target price on Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 target price on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.15.

Cigna Group News Roundup

Investors following CI have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Cigna’s raised forecast, long-term growth runway and inclusion in CIBC’s defensive stock picks. Another report pointed to a stronger third-quarter outlook, which may support investor confidence. Cigna Group raised forecast and CIBC defensive basket Cigna outlook after strong third quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Cigna recently moved above its 20-day moving average, a technical signal that the cited analysis characterized as short-term bullish. Cigna breaks above 20-day moving average
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler cut its target to $360 from $370, tempering its valuation outlook, though it retained an Overweight rating. Piper Sandler cuts Cigna target

Cigna Group Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:CI opened at $296.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $78.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.25. Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $257.85 and a twelve month high of $318.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $287.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.56.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $7.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.52 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $73.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.64 billion. Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 19.57%. Cigna Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.83 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cigna Group will post 30.72 EPS for the current year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be given a $1.56 dividend. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 2,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.61, for a total value of $748,515.97. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,236,306.80. This represents a 9.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Everett Neville sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.05, for a total transaction of $175,258.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,435,304.65. The trade was a 10.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Cigna Group Profile

The Cigna Group is a global health services company that provides health insurance and related services through its Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth Health Services businesses. Cigna Healthcare offers medical, dental, behavioral health and other coverage and services to employers, individuals and government-program members. Evernorth provides pharmacy benefit management, specialty pharmacy, care delivery and other health services. Its offerings include prescription drug benefits and services for people with complex or chronic conditions.