Cigna Group $CI Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Cigna Group by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 304,736 shares valued at about $83.9 million. Institutional investors still own the vast majority of the stock, at 86.99%.
• Cigna reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $7.79 versus the $7.60 consensus estimate and revenue of $68.52 billion, above expectations. Revenue rose 4.6% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $338.35. Cigna also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.56 per share, yielding about 2.2%.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 304,736 shares of the health services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,798 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Cigna Group worth $83,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Cigna Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 1,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 138 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 116.4% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 158 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $340.00 price target on shares of Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Cigna Group from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Cigna Group from $333.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cigna Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Cigna Group from $374.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $338.35.

Cigna Group Trading Up 0.6%

CI opened at $283.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.30. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $274.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.32. Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $239.51 and a 1-year high of $338.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The health services provider reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $68.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $66.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.74 earnings per share. The business'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. Analysts expect that Cigna Group will post 30.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $1.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cigna Group

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 2,307 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.91, for a total transaction of $666,515.37. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,432,044.77. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Everett Neville sold 1,719 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.91, for a total transaction of $496,636.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,638,119.70. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cigna Group Company 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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