Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 142,571 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,640,708 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 142,571 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.95% of The Cigna Group worth $930,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CI. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 63.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547,245 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $510,467,000 after purchasing an additional 600,215 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 23.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,138,193 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $706,822,000 after purchasing an additional 405,694 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 145.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 683,361 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $225,899,000 after purchasing an additional 404,791 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 49,287.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 400,040 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $138,590,000 after purchasing an additional 399,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 526.3% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 363,537 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $120,174,000 after purchasing an additional 305,490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CI shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $405.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.64.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of CI opened at $282.90 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $327.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $337.08. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $282.27 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.69 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $7.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.22 by $0.29. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The business had revenue of $63.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.77 EPS. The Cigna Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.83%.

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.