The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) to Issue $1.40 Quarterly Dividend

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of 1.40 per share by the health services provider on Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%.

The Cigna Group has increased its dividend by an average of 397.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 4 years. The Cigna Group has a payout ratio of 17.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect The Cigna Group to earn $31.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.5%.

The Cigna Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE CI traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $352.28. The company had a trading volume of 920,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,585,859. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $349.03 and a 200 day moving average of $316.84. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $240.50 and a 1-year high of $365.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.56.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $51.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.91 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on CI shares. Barclays began coverage on The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $393.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $372.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other The Cigna Group news, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 6,083 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total transaction of $2,068,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,649 shares in the company, valued at $15,180,660. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330. Insiders own 0.70% 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.