Nicole S. Jones Sells 4,904 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Stock

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,065,198.52. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:CI traded down $2.61 on Tuesday, reaching $308.90. 1,547,297 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,858,643. The company has a market capitalization of $85.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. 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 Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $262.03 and a 12 month high of $370.83. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $290.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $318.11.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.79 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is currently 49.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.31.

Institutional Trading of The Cigna Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 26.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 570,283 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $197,569,000 after buying an additional 119,681 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 42.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,877 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $650,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 6.3% in the third quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 898 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,664 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $10,970,000 after buying an additional 1,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. 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.