Employees Retirement System of Texas Buys 5,867 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,432 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,867 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $9,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In related news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total value of $737,391.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,924.85. The trade was a 30.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $3,182,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,289,920. This trade represents a 42.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on The Cigna Group from $348.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $385.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.33.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

The Cigna Group stock opened at $316.36 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $325.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $309.95. The Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $262.03 and a 12 month high of $370.83. The company has a market capitalization of $84.51 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.35 by $0.39. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. The business had revenue of $65.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.47 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 3rd. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

The Cigna Group 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.