Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 116,122 Shares of Cigna Group $CI

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its Cigna stake by 70.5% in the third quarter, buying 116,122 shares to bring its holdings to 280,939 shares, valued at about $76.4 million.
• Cigna beat quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $7.98 per share versus $7.52 expected and revenue of $73.79 billion; revenue grew 5.6% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $336.20. Cigna also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.56 per share, equivalent to a 2.1% yield.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 280,939 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 116,122 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.11% of Cigna Group worth $76,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cigna Group during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cigna Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Cigna Group in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of Cigna Group in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Cigna Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Cigna Group from $361.00 to $347.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $336.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cigna Group

In related news, insider Nicole Jones sold 2,677 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.61, for a total transaction of $748,515.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,880 shares in the company, valued at $7,236,306.80. This represents a 9.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Everett Neville sold 617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.05, for a total value of $175,258.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,435,304.65. This trade represents a 10.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cigna Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of CI opened at $295.37 on Tuesday. Cigna Group has a one year low of $256.52 and a one year high of $318.05. The company has a market cap of $78.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $282.27.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The health services provider reported $7.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.52 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $73.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.64 billion. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 2.27%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.83 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Cigna Group will post 30.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.56 per share. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.54%.

Cigna Group Company Profile

The Cigna Group is a global health services company that provides health insurance and related services through its Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth Health Services businesses. Cigna Healthcare offers medical, dental, behavioral health and other coverage and services to employers, individuals and government-program members.

Evernorth provides pharmacy benefit management, specialty pharmacy, care delivery and other health services. Its offerings include prescription drug benefits and services for people with complex or chronic conditions.

The company serves customers in the United States and select international markets.

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