Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 34,234 Shares of Cigna Group $CI

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group cut its Cigna stake by 84.6% in the second quarter, selling 34,234 shares and retaining 6,229 shares valued at approximately $1.7 million. Institutional investors still own 86.99% of Cigna’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 15 Buy ratings and 8 Hold ratings. Cigna has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $337.10, above its reported trading price of $275.57.
• Cigna exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $7.78 in adjusted EPS and 6.7% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.56 per share, equal to a 2.3% annualized yield.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 84.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,229 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 34,234 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Cigna Group were worth $1,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cigna Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 161.9% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Cigna Group in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cigna Group in the second quarter worth $34,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Cigna Group from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Cigna Group from $371.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Cigna Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $336.00 to $307.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cigna Group from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Cigna Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $337.10.

Cigna Group Trading Down 0.2%

Cigna Group stock opened at $275.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $72.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $239.51 and a 1 year high of $315.47. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $282.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.67.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $7.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $70.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.14 billion. Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 19.75%. Cigna Group's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.20 earnings per share. Cigna Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 30.450- EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Cigna Group will post 30.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $1.56 dividend. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Cigna Group's payout ratio is currently 25.82%.

Insider Transactions at Cigna Group

In related news, insider Nicole Jones sold 2,677 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.61, for a total transaction of $748,515.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,236,306.80. This represents a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Everett Neville sold 617 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.05, for a total value of $175,258.85. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,435,304.65. This represents a 10.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 22,730 shares of company stock worth $6,293,359 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cigna Group Company Profile

The Cigna Group NYSE: CI is a global health services company that helps individuals, employers, health plans and government organizations access health care and related services. The company operates primarily through two businesses: Cigna Healthcare, which provides medical, behavioral health, dental and other health benefit products and services, and Evernorth Health Services, which offers pharmacy, care delivery and health benefits solutions.

Evernorth includes Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit services provider that manages prescription drug benefits and operates home delivery and specialty pharmacy services.

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