Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Rating Increased to Outperform at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has $358.00 target price on the health services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $307.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on CI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Cigna Group from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $318.00 price objective on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Cigna Group from $344.00 to $333.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their target price on Cigna Group from $270.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $333.11.

Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of CI opened at $266.41 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $279.83 and a 200-day moving average of $283.17. The company has a market cap of $70.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $239.51 and a 1 year high of $350.00.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The health services provider reported $8.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.88 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $72.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.53 billion. Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 19.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.64 EPS. Cigna Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 30.250- EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.56 per share. This is a boost from Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 2,307 shares of Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.91, for a total transaction of $666,515.37. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,432,044.77. This trade represents a 6.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Everett Neville sold 1,719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.91, for a total value of $496,636.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,670 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,119.70. This represents a 23.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cigna Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Cigna Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,173,577 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $7,203,754,000 after acquiring an additional 414,834 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,339,250 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,396,132,000 after purchasing an additional 224,122 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,805,083 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,249,113,000 after purchasing an additional 903,334 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in Cigna Group by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 11,138,614 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,065,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,833,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in Cigna Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 7,828,168 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,256,469,000 after purchasing an additional 35,150 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cigna Group

Cigna Group (NYSE: CI) is a global health services company that offers a broad portfolio of healthcare products and insurance solutions for individuals, employers, and governments. Its core businesses include medical and behavioral health plans, dental and vision coverage, pharmacy benefit management, and supplemental health products. Cigna serves a mix of commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid customers and provides workplace benefits such as group health plans and disability and life benefits for employers.

In addition to traditional insurance products, Cigna operates health services and care-delivery platforms designed to manage costs and improve outcomes.