New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 30,000 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 494,072 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 30,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.17% of The Cigna Group worth $171,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.4% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,872 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,916,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in The Cigna Group by 75.6% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 3,783 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $489,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,453 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $34,304,000 after purchasing an additional 16,846 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 36.0% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,276 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,548,000 after purchasing an additional 4,043 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on CI shares. Barclays increased their target price on The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $384.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $392.79.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

NYSE CI traded down $6.54 on Friday, reaching $308.27. 207,348 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,514,423. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $346.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $341.77. The firm has a market cap of $86.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $253.95 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $7.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.22 by $0.29. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The firm had revenue of $63.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.77 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is currently 44.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total transaction of $922,151.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,264.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% 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.