Teacher Retirement System of Texas Increases Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 155,253 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 46,354 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $42,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $635,000. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,974 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,845,000 after purchasing an additional 2,228 shares during the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 316 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 44,583 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $12,311,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth $7,201,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total value of $737,391.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. This represents a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,065,198.52. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI stock opened at $321.34 on Friday. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $262.03 and a 1 year high of $370.83. The company has a market cap of $87.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $300.07 and a 200 day moving average of $315.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is 49.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CI has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, The Cigna Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $373.25.

The Cigna Group 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.