Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Sells 320 Shares of Cigna Group $CI

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its holdings in Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,246 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 320 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Cigna Group were worth $1,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CI. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Cigna Group by 86,071.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,475,282 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,148,859,000 after buying an additional 3,471,249 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Cigna Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $727,905,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Cigna Group by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,056,806 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,966,690,000 after buying an additional 1,094,327 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Cigna Group by 21.5% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,886,674 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,607,716,000 after acquiring an additional 865,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 38.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,649,837 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $542,796,000 after acquiring an additional 457,052 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of Cigna Group stock opened at $305.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $81.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.74. Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $256.89 and a fifty-two week high of $350.00.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.15 by $0.05. Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.92% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The business had revenue of $67.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.72 earnings per share. Cigna Group’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Cigna Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 29.600- EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $372.00 price target on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target (down from $388.00) on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Truist Financial set a $375.00 price target on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $371.00 price target on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Cigna Group from $354.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cigna Group

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 28,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $8,557,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,648 shares in the company, valued at $7,694,400. This trade represents a 52.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 5,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $1,610,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,182 shares in the company, valued at $15,354,600. This represents a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.