Distillate Capital Partners LLC Has $30.13 Million Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 216,911.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 91,145 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,103 shares during the quarter. The Cigna Group accounts for 1.6% of Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $30,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also 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 first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,793,138 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $9,731,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017,333 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 6.4% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 867,180 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in The Cigna Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 7,727,729 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,314,068,000 after buying an additional 97,277 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,682,061 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $803,143,000 after buying an additional 126,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,628,807 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $869,078,000 after buying an additional 150,765 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CI. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $384.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $392.79.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

CI stock opened at $354.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $100.82 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $347.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $345.17. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $253.95 and a 1-year high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $60.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 24.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 45.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total value of $922,151.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

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.