Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in Cigna Group to approximately 9.79%, owning 26,154,490 shares after acquiring 45,536 shares in Q1.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Cigna Group, with Morgan Stanley increasing its target from $379 to $390, reflecting a positive outlook on the stock.
• Cigna Group announced a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.2%, payable to shareholders on September 18.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,154,490 shares of the health services provider's stock after buying an additional 45,536 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.79% of Cigna Group worth $8,604,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,649,837 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $542,796,000 after purchasing an additional 457,052 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA lifted its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 6.0% during the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,948 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,628,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Cigna Group by 90.9% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,256 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 2,503 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Cigna Group during the first quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Cigna Group by 87.5% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 300 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CI. Barclays reduced their price target on Cigna Group from $385.00 to $354.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Cigna Group from $379.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Cigna Group from $385.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Cigna Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Cigna Group in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $377.72.

Cigna Group Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:CI traded up $4.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $275.03. 1,518,156 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,047,994. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $256.89 and a 12-month high of $370.83. The firm has a market cap of $73.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.47. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $304.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $311.45.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.15 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $67.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.61 billion. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 1.92%. Cigna Group's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.97%.

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.