The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

CI has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their target price on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price objective on The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.25.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of CI opened at $329.33 on Friday. 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 has a 12 month low of $262.03 and a 12 month high of $370.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $305.58 and its 200-day moving average is $313.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.79 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 49.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Cigna Group news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 over the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Cigna Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,556,278 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,191,151,000 after buying an additional 501,320 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,054,959 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,224,296,000 after purchasing an additional 154,420 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,957,180 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,640,878,000 after purchasing an additional 101,737 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,021,582 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,110,520,000 after buying an additional 737,099 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $867,785,000. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

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.