California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 69,084 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 967,477 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 69,084 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $289,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 4,341 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 83.2% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,417 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 127.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 566,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $169,558,000 after buying an additional 317,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on The Cigna Group from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $370.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price objective (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total value of $12,760,149.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at $110,394,985.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI traded up $3.88 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $357.06. 132,459 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,580,634. The company’s 50-day moving average is $348.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $316.39. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $240.50 and a 12-month high of $365.71. The company has a market cap of $104.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 2.64%. The firm had revenue of $51.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is 32.20%.

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.