Norges Bank Invests $1.02 Billion in Cigna Group $CI

Key Points

• Norges Bank initiated a new position in Cigna Group in the fourth quarter, buying 3,705,227 shares valued at about $1.02 billion and holding 1.39% of the company.
• Cigna has seen continued interest from large institutional investors, with firms like Vanguard, Massachusetts Financial Services, and Geode Capital also increasing or maintaining sizable stakes; institutional investors now own 86.99% of the stock.
• The company posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $7.79 and revenue of $68.52 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.56 per share.

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,705,227 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,019,790,000. Norges Bank owned 1.39% of Cigna Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,173,577 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $7,203,754,000 after acquiring an additional 414,834 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 8.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 903,334 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 9,305,225 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $2,682,231,000 after acquiring an additional 354,615 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 7,828,168 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $2,256,469,000 after acquiring an additional 35,150 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cigna Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,051,370 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,658,055,000 after acquiring an additional 48,474 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Cigna Group from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Cigna Group from $333.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Cigna Group from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cigna Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $339.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 201,878 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.82, for a total value of $59,113,915.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,337 shares in the company, valued at $10,054,560.34. This represents a 85.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Everett Neville sold 1,719 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.91, for a total transaction of $496,636.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,638,119.70. The trade was a 23.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 205,904 shares of company stock worth $60,277,068 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $277.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $278.32 and a 200 day moving average of $276.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.30. Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $239.51 and a 12-month high of $338.89.

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

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a $1.56 dividend. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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