Creative Planning Acquires 3,994 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,655 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,994 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $20,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,793,138 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $9,731,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,333 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,341,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,208,593,000 after purchasing an additional 867,180 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,628,807 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $869,078,000 after purchasing an additional 150,765 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 23.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 405,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $510,467,000 after purchasing an additional 600,215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CI. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on The Cigna Group from $402.00 to $422.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $392.79.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

CI opened at $336.00 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $350.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $344.17. The company has a market capitalization of $95.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.50. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $253.95 and a 1 year high of $370.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $60.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.30 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 1.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.13 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total transaction of $922,151.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,010,264.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.