254 Shares in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Bought by William B. Walkup & Associates Inc.

William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 254 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $84,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 8.1% in 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 buying an additional 2,017,333 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 6.4% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 867,180 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in The Cigna Group by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,628,807 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $869,078,000 after purchasing an additional 150,765 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $706,822,000 after purchasing an additional 405,694 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased 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. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CI stock opened at $347.70 on Monday. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $253.95 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $348.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $345.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71.

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

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CI. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $384.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays upped their price target on The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $392.79.

Insider Activity at The Cigna Group

In related news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,264.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.