Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Raises Stock Holdings in Cigna Group $CI

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Cigna Group by 10.0%, acquiring an additional 1,094,327 shares, bringing its total stake to approximately 12 million shares valued at about $3.97 billion.
• Cigna Group reported $7.20 earnings per share for its last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $7.15, while revenue reached $67.13 billion, an increase of 11% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 32.97%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,056,806 shares of the health services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,094,327 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 4.51% of Cigna Group worth $3,966,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Cigna Group by 58.6% during the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 111 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cigna Group in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cigna Group in the first quarter worth $40,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $372.00 price target on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $371.00 price target on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Cigna Group from $341.00 to $340.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price objective (down previously from $388.00) on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Cigna Group from $379.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $374.82.

Cigna Group Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of CI stock opened at $304.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Cigna Group has a one year low of $256.89 and a one year high of $370.83. The company's fifty day moving average price is $301.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $311.25. The company has a market capitalization of $81.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.47.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.15 by $0.05. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 1.92%.The business had revenue of $67.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.72 EPS. Cigna Group's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Cigna Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 29.600- EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 28,526 shares of Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $8,557,800.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 25,648 shares in the company, valued at $7,694,400. This trade represents a 52.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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