Cigna Group $CI Stock: Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Raises Holdings

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. grew its stake in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,875 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares during the quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.’s holdings in Cigna Group were worth $29,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Banyan Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cigna Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $17,640,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in Cigna Group by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 16,203 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,404,000 after buying an additional 2,225 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Cigna Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 14,588 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,965,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Cigna Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. increased its position in Cigna Group by 4.4% in the third quarter. Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. now owns 8,557 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,326,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CI. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 8th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $362.00 price target on shares of Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Cigna Group from $288.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $336.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cigna Group

In related news, insider Everett Neville sold 617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,435,304.65. This trade represents a 10.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 2,677 shares of Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.61, for a total value of $748,515.97. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,236,306.80. The trade was a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Top Cigna Group Stories

These are some of the CI stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target from $307; reports give different new targets of $325 and $335, while keeping an equal-weight rating. Jefferies also lifted its target from $288 to $304, but maintained a hold rating. Wells Fargo target report Wells Fargo alternate target report Jefferies target report
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage points to a raised earnings outlook following a strong third quarter, which could improve expectations for future results. CIBC also included Cigna in a defensive stock-pick list. Cigna earnings outlook CIBC defensive stock-pick list
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains moderately bullish overall, although coverage notes Cigna has lagged industry peers and the broader market. Analyst sentiment overview

Cigna Group Stock Performance

CI stock opened at $296.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $287.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.70. Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $257.85 and a fifty-two week high of $318.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $7.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.52 by $0.46. Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.09% and a return on equity of 19.57%. The business had revenue of $73.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Cigna Group will post 30.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.