Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Acquires 17,326 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 35.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,940 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,326 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $22,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.4% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,872 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,916,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 3,669.7% during the third quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 24,013 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $8,319,000 after acquiring an additional 23,376 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 75.6% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 3,783 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in The Cigna Group during the second quarter worth $489,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 36.0% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,276 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $5,548,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CI shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $405.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $402.00 to $422.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $394.00 price objective (up from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $394.64.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

NYSE CI opened at $332.73 on Tuesday. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $253.95 and a 52-week high of $370.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $334.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $338.63. 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 company has a market capitalization of $92.55 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.51.

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

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 52.83%.

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.