Truist Financial Increases The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Price Target to $385.00

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) had its price target hoisted by Truist Financial from $375.00 to $385.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the health services provider’s stock.

CI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 price target (down previously from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price target on The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.00.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of CI stock opened at $329.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.51. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $262.03 and a 12-month high of $370.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $312.04 and a 200-day moving average of $311.07.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (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 earned $6.79 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 49.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. The trade was a 30.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Cigna Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $867,785,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at $724,517,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in The Cigna Group by 58,799.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,774,626 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $583,852,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771,613 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $313,911,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in The Cigna Group by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,021,582 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,110,520,000 after purchasing an additional 737,099 shares during the period. 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.