Brandes Investment Partners LP Has $259.89 Million Stock Position in Cigna Group $CI

Key Points

• Brandes Investment Partners increased its Cigna stake by 14% in the fourth quarter, ending with 944,262 shares worth about $259.9 million. The position now makes up 2.0% of the firm’s holdings and is its 8th largest holding.
• Institutional interest in Cigna remains heavy, with several large investors also boosting or initiating positions. Overall, institutions own 86.99% of the company’s stock.
• Cigna beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $7.79 EPS on $68.52 billion in revenue, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $338.80.

Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 944,262 shares of the health services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 115,857 shares during the quarter. Cigna Group comprises 2.0% of Brandes Investment Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 0.35% of Cigna Group worth $259,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,019,790,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Cigna Group by 13,333.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,165,408 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $900,912,000 after buying an additional 3,141,844 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Cigna Group by 140.2% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,179,301 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $916,434,000 after buying an additional 1,855,897 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Cigna Group by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,805,083 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $3,249,113,000 after buying an additional 903,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Cigna Group by 54.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,136,311 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $615,781,000 after buying an additional 753,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 201,878 shares of Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.82, for a total value of $59,113,915.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 34,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,054,560.34. This trade represents a 85.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Cigna Group from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Cigna Group from $358.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Cigna Group from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial upped their price target on Cigna Group from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Cigna Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $303.00 to $302.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $338.80.

Cigna Group Stock Up 1.8%

CI stock opened at $294.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $280.60 and a 200-day moving average of $277.57. Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $239.51 and a fifty-two week high of $338.89. The company has a market capitalization of $77.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The health services provider reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.19. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 2.26%.The company had revenue of $68.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.74 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Cigna Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 30.350- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cigna Group will post 30.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a $1.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.45%.

About Cigna Group

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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