Beaton Management Co. Inc. Cuts Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Beaton Management Co. Inc. decreased its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,471 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 37 shares during the quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,341,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $5,208,593,000 after purchasing an additional 867,180 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $510,467,000 after buying an additional 600,215 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 1st quarter worth about $161,300,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 145.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 683,361 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $225,899,000 after acquiring an additional 404,791 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of The Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $405.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $394.00 price objective (up previously from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $394.64.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In other news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total value of $922,151.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,264.52. This trade represents a 13.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 0.7 %

The Cigna Group stock opened at $321.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $338.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $339.55. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $253.95 and a 1-year high of $370.83. The company has a market cap of $89.43 billion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 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.