Brokerages Set The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Target Price at $380.39

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $380.39.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CI shares. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $385.00 price objective (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $388.00 to $362.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $388.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 1.5%

CI stock traded up $4.73 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $314.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,074,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,710,302. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $322.23 and a 200 day moving average of $308.82. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83.

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

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 3rd. The Cigna Group's payout ratio is 33.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $867,785,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $724,517,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the first quarter worth $727,905,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 58,799.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774,626 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $583,852,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771,613 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth about $313,911,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About The Cigna Group

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.