New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 6,143 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 487,929 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 6,143 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.18% of The Cigna Group worth $134,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CI. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in The Cigna Group during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CI. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $403.00 to $379.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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 on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $373.69.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

CI opened at $294.75 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $81.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $285.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $320.08. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $262.03 and a 1-year high of $370.83.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted 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 net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 18.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 45.75%.

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.