Busey Bank Buys 1,607 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Busey Bank lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,708 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $18,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 8.1% during the first 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 grew its stake in The Cigna Group by 6.4% during 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The Cigna Group by 63.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547,245 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $510,467,000 after acquiring an additional 600,215 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in The Cigna Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $161,300,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 23.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $384.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on The Cigna Group from $402.00 to $422.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $392.79.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $318.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $90.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $349.85 and its 200 day moving average is $343.40. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $253.95 and a 52 week high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $60.52 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.13 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.98%.

Insider Transactions at The Cigna Group

In related news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were 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 $6,010,264.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company 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.