The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $392.00 target price (up previously from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. Baird R W raised shares of The Cigna Group to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on The Cigna Group from $432.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $373.87.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

CI opened at $333.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $94.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $344.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $328.42. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $253.95 and a 52-week high of $365.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $57.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.59 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 17.24%. The Cigna Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total value of $11,084,500.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123,618,339.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 31,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.17, for a total value of $11,084,500.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 348,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123,618,339.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.08, for a total value of $338,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,849,635.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,193 shares of company stock worth $19,475,326. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Cigna Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 195.8% during the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 32,150 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $9,627,000 after purchasing an additional 21,280 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 9,307 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,772,000 after buying an additional 3,539 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 98,980.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 4,949 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,377,000. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,811,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% 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.