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

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 42.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 155,253 shares of the health services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 46,354 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.06% of The Cigna Group worth $42,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,367,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 323,911 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $112,216,000 after buying an additional 11,228 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 75,837 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $20,942,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in The Cigna Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 56,933 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $15,721,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its holdings in The Cigna Group by 28.3% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 15,713 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $5,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,466 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

CI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $360.00 price objective (down previously from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stephens decreased their target price on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $348.00 price target (down previously from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The Cigna Group presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $373.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the 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 $1,697,924.85. This trade represents a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the business'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 $8,173,499.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,367,568.04. This trade represents a 17.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI traded down $3.76 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $316.64. 1,172,135 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,564,847. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $86.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $301.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $314.45. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $262.03 and a 1 year high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from The Cigna Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The Cigna Group's payout ratio is presently 49.35%.

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.