BlackRock Inc. Acquires 840,098 Shares of Cigna Group $CI

Key Points

• BlackRock increased its Cigna stake by 3.7% in the second quarter, adding 840,098 shares and bringing its holdings to 23.44 million shares, or approximately 8.87% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.99% of Cigna.
• Cigna reported quarterly earnings of $7.78 per share, exceeding estimates of $7.60, while revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $70.04 billion. The company maintained full-year earnings guidance of approximately $30.45 per share.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $339.45, compared with the stock’s recent price of $275.03. Cigna also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.56 per share, representing a 2.3% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,438,250 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 840,098 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 8.87% of Cigna Group worth $6,461,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Cigna Group by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cigna Group by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,225 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $7,347,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Cigna Group by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 148,840 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $49,204,000 after acquiring an additional 21,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cigna Group in the second quarter valued at about $163,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CI has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Cigna Group from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Cigna Group from $304.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Cigna Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $336.00 to $307.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Cigna Group from $338.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Cigna Group from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $339.45.

Cigna Group Price Performance

NYSE:CI opened at $275.03 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $285.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $72.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.29. Cigna Group has a one year low of $239.51 and a one year high of $315.47.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $7.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.18. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 2.27%.The business had revenue of $70.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.20 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Cigna Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 30.450- EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cigna Group will post 30.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jamie G. Kates sold 899 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.61, for a total value of $268,450.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,108.48. The trade was a 27.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 19,436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.27, for a total value of $5,369,583.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,256 shares in the company, valued at $7,530,015.12. This represents a 41.63% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Cigna Group Profile

Cigna Group NYSE: CI is a global health services company that offers a broad portfolio of healthcare products and insurance solutions for individuals, employers, and governments. Its core businesses include medical and behavioral health plans, dental and vision coverage, pharmacy benefit management, and supplemental health products. Cigna serves a mix of commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid customers and provides workplace benefits such as group health plans and disability and life benefits for employers.

In addition to traditional insurance products, Cigna operates health services and care-delivery platforms designed to manage costs and improve outcomes.

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