The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $400.00 price objective on the health services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on CI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on The Cigna Group from $432.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Baird R W upgraded The Cigna Group to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and issued a $392.00 target price (up previously from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered The Cigna Group from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $376.20.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of CI stock opened at $330.31 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $332.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.53. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $253.95 and a 12-month high of $365.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.17 by $0.30. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 1.76%. The firm had revenue of $57.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 4th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total value of $1,654,322.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,923 shares in the company, valued at $13,773,834.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Elder Granger sold 1,000 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.08, for a total value of $338,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,849,635.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total transaction of $1,654,322.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,773,834.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,988 shares of company stock valued at $7,975,726. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Cigna Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 8.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,793,138 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $9,731,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,333 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,341,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $5,208,593,000 after buying an additional 867,180 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 7,727,729 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,314,068,000 after buying an additional 97,277 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in The Cigna Group by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,973,106 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,422,657,000 after buying an additional 225,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,006,348,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

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.