W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Raises Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,272 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 529 shares during the quarter. The Cigna Group comprises about 1.9% of W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $17,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CI. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in The Cigna Group by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,872 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,916,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its position in The Cigna Group by 3,669.7% in the 3rd quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 24,013 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $8,319,000 after purchasing an additional 23,376 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in The Cigna Group by 75.6% in the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 3,783 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $489,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in The Cigna Group by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,276 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,548,000 after purchasing an additional 4,043 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CI. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $405.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $402.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned 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 a consensus price target of $394.64.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $322.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $89.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.51. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $253.95 and a 52 week high of $370.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $338.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $339.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $7.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.22 by $0.29. The firm 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 firm’s revenue was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.