Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Stock Price

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) had its price target lifted by Truist Financial from $375.00 to $385.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the health services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 target price (down previously from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price target on The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.00.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

NYSE:CI opened at $329.52 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $312.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $311.31. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $262.03 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.51. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is presently 49.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at $9,065,198.52. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,924.85. The trade was a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CI. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,556,278 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,191,151,000 after acquiring an additional 501,320 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 8,054,959 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,224,296,000 after buying an additional 154,420 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,957,180 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,640,878,000 after buying an additional 101,737 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,021,582 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,110,520,000 after buying an additional 737,099 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $867,785,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.