State of Michigan Retirement System Increases Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 175.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 235,741 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 150,100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System owned about 0.08% of The Cigna Group worth $65,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,367,000. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 3,669.7% during the third quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 24,013 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $8,319,000 after buying an additional 23,376 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 323,911 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $112,216,000 after buying an additional 11,228 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 75,837 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $20,942,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the period. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $15,721,000 after buying an additional 1,548 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $372.31.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $311.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $86.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $262.03 and a 1 year high of $370.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $290.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.34.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.79 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is 49.35%.

The 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.