Focus Financial Network Inc. Boosts Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 31.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,600 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,793,138 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $9,731,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,333 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,341,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,208,593,000 after purchasing an additional 867,180 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547,245 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $510,467,000 after purchasing an additional 600,215 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the 1st quarter valued at $161,300,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,138,193 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $706,822,000 after acquiring an additional 405,694 shares during the period. 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 research reports. Barclays upped their target price on The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The Cigna Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $392.29.

Insider Activity at The Cigna Group

In related news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total value of $922,151.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,264.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.5 %

CI stock opened at $316.49 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $345.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $253.95 and a 52-week high of $370.83. The firm has a market cap of $88.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.50.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $7.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.22 by $0.29. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The business had revenue of $63.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.06%.

The Cigna Group Company 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.