Employees Retirement System of Texas Reduces Stock Holdings in Cigna Group $CI

Key Points

• Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its Cigna Group stake by 39.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 16,098 shares and leaving it with 24,256 shares valued at about $6.68 million.
• Cigna topped earnings expectations for the latest quarter, reporting $7.79 EPS versus $7.60 expected and revenue of $68.52 billion, up 4.6% year over year.
• Analysts remain constructive on the stock, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.50, above Cigna’s recent trading level around $285.80.

Employees Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 39.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,256 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 16,098 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Cigna Group were worth $6,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CI. King Wealth Management Group grew its stake in Cigna Group by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 16,967 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $4,670,000 after acquiring an additional 7,275 shares in the last quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. raised its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 1,707 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 363 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,097 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Cigna Group from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $337.00 target price on Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $340.00 target price on Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Cigna Group from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Cigna Group from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cigna Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $339.50.

Cigna Group Stock Up 1.8%

Cigna Group stock opened at $285.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $277.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.73. The company has a market cap of $75.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.30. Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $239.51 and a fifty-two week high of $338.89.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The health services provider reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Cigna Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 30.350- EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cigna Group will post 30.39 EPS for the current year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.56 per share. 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 is presently 26.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Everett Neville sold 1,719 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.91, for a total value of $496,636.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,638,119.70. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 2,307 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.91, for a total value 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. This represents a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 205,904 shares of company stock worth $60,277,068 over the last ninety days. 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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