Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 900 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 5.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,100 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $5,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CI. Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 70 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in The Cigna Group during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 100 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in The Cigna Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total value of $922,151.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,264.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other The Cigna Group news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total value of $922,151.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,010,264.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total value of $1,654,322.95. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,773,834.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,033 shares of company stock valued at $3,095,820. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $384.86.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

NYSE CI traded up $5.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $351.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 492,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,538,317. The Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $253.95 and a 12 month high of $365.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $335.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $341.76. The company has a market cap of $99.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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 company had revenue of $60.52 billion during 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 Cigna Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.98%.

The 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.