Westpac Banking Corp Makes New $504,000 Investment in Cigna Group $CI

Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 1,827 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $504,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CI. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cigna Group by 161.9% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Cigna Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Cigna Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new position in Cigna Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cigna Group

In other Cigna Group news, CAO Jamie G. Kates sold 899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.61, for a total value of $268,450.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,108.48. This represents a 27.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 2,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.61, for a total transaction of $748,515.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,236,306.80. This represents a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,012 shares of company stock worth $6,386,550. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Cigna Group from $355.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Cigna Group in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Cigna Group from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Cigna Group from $305.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cigna Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.45.

Cigna Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $276.19 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $284.20 and its 200 day moving average is $281.38. The company has a market cap of $72.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $239.51 and a 1 year high of $315.47.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $7.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $70.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.14 billion. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 2.27%.The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.20 EPS. Cigna Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 30.450- EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cigna Group will post 30.51 EPS for the current year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $1.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.82%.

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.