Analysts Set The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Target Price at $373.25

Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $373.25.

CI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $348.00 target price (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Activity at The Cigna Group

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,367,568.04. This trade represents a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Cigna Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CI. Sterling Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $4,367,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 323,911 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $112,216,000 after purchasing an additional 11,228 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.1% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position 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. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its stake in The Cigna Group by 28.3% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 15,713 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $5,444,000 after buying an additional 3,466 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

The Cigna Group stock opened at $332.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.50. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $262.03 and a one year high of $370.83. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $307.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $313.13.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its 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 prior year, the company posted $6.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is currently 49.35%.

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.