Arizona State Retirement System Sells 816 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,634 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 816 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $22,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the third quarter worth $37,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the third quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $372.31.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $309.84 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $291.31 and a 200-day moving average of $318.05. The stock has a market cap of $86.18 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $262.03 and a 52-week high of $370.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Cigna Group Company 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.