Employees Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,432 shares of the health services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,867 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $9,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 764,900 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $211,219,000 after purchasing an additional 188,235 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 75,837 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $20,942,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $15,721,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares in the last quarter. Humankind Investments LLC grew its position in The Cigna Group by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 5,294 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in The Cigna Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 550,638 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $152,053,000 after acquiring an additional 8,077 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In related news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $3,182,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,289,920. This trade represents a 42.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on CI shares. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays raised their target price on The Cigna Group from $339.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on The Cigna Group from $385.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of The Cigna Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $323.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, The Cigna Group presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $379.33.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CI traded up $4.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $316.05. The stock had a trading volume of 2,732,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,804,111. The stock has a market cap of $84.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $324.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $309.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $262.03 and a 12-month high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.35 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $65.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.39 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.47 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 3rd. The Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.44%.

The Cigna Group 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.