State of Michigan Retirement System Raises Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 175.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 235,741 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 150,100 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $65,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,013,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,031 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 7,850 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,168,000 after purchasing an additional 3,150 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,040 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 2,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter worth about $93,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CI. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 target price (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their target price on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 target price on The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial cut their target price on The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.31.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $311.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $290.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.34. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $262.03 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83. The company has a market cap of $86.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share 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 previous year, the company earned $6.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.35%.

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.