KBC Group NV Sells 218,217 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 28.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 542,561 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 218,217 shares during the period. The Cigna Group makes up approximately 0.6% of KBC Group NV’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. KBC Group NV owned about 0.20% of The Cigna Group worth $187,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,612 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 13.8% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 246,601 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $89,563,000 after acquiring an additional 29,838 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 43.9% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 3,969 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 295.8% in the first quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. now owns 4,908 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 3,668 shares during the period. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 14.2% during the first quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,668 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total transaction of $922,151.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,264.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on CI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on The Cigna Group from $402.00 to $422.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $405.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $394.00 target price (up from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.64.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $331.75 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $340.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $340.08. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $253.95 and a 52 week high of $370.83. The company has a market capitalization of $92.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.51.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $7.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.22 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $63.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.77 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.83%.

The Cigna Group Company 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.