Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Purchases 300 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,956 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $1,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CI. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 2,500.0% in the third quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 104 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in The Cigna Group during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $394.00 target price (up from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $394.64.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of CI stock traded down $0.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $332.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 53,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,540,364. The company has a market cap of $92.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.51. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $253.95 and a one year high of $370.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $334.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $338.63. 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 Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $63.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.58 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.77 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.83%.

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.