Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Cigna Group $CI

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its Cigna stake by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, owning 782,143 shares valued at about $215.4 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Insider selling was notable: CEO David Cordani sold over 201,000 shares in May under a pre-arranged trading plan, and CAO Jamie G. Kates also sold shares in June.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Cigna, with several firms raising price targets; the stock’s consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of about $338.30.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 782,143 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,839 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.29% of Cigna Group worth $215,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Cigna Group by 10.4% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cigna Group by 4.5% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,225 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $7,347,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Cigna Group by 16.6% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 148,840 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $49,204,000 after purchasing an additional 21,173 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cigna Group in the second quarter valued at about $163,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cigna Group

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 201,878 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $59,113,915.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,054,560.34. This trade represents a 85.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Jamie G. Kates sold 899 shares of Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.61, for a total value of $268,450.39. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,368 shares of the company's stock, valued at $707,108.48. This represents a 27.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CI. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Cigna Group from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Cigna Group from $333.00 to $337.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Cigna Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $303.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Cigna Group from $355.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Cigna Group from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cigna Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $338.30.

Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of CI stock opened at $292.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $283.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.26. 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 stock has a market cap of $77.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.28. Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $239.51 and a 1 year high of $338.89.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The health services provider reported $7.79 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $68.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.74 earnings per share. Cigna Group'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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cigna Group will post 30.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.45%.

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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