Cigna Group $CI Stake Lifted by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 26.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,623 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Cigna Group were worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,438,250 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $6,461,457,000 after buying an additional 840,098 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cigna Group in the second quarter valued at $1,628,918,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Cigna Group by 8.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,182,083 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $848,821,000 after acquiring an additional 256,677 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Cigna Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,958,656 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $814,311,000 after acquiring an additional 263,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Cigna Group by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,426,218 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $647,008,000 after acquiring an additional 236,340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nicole Jones sold 19,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.27, for a total transaction of $5,369,583.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,256 shares in the company, valued at $7,530,015.12. This represents a 41.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Everett Neville sold 617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.05, for a total value of $175,258.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,435,304.65. The trade was a 10.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 22,730 shares of company stock valued at $6,293,359 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CI shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cigna Group from $304.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Cigna Group from $338.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $337.00 price objective on shares of Cigna Group in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial cut Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $362.00 target price on Cigna Group in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $338.24.

Cigna Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $282.24 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $277.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $239.51 and a 1-year high of $311.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.29.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $7.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.18. Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The business had revenue of $71.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Cigna Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 30.450- EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cigna Group will post 30.50 EPS for the current year.

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a $1.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.82%.

Cigna Group Profile

The Cigna Group (NYSE: CI) is a global health company that provides health care and related services to individuals, employers, government organizations and health plans. Its operations are primarily organized through Cigna Healthcare and Evernorth Health Services, which together address health coverage, pharmacy services, care delivery and benefit management.

Cigna Healthcare offers medical, dental, behavioral health, disability and other benefits, with a focus on employer-sponsored and individual health plans in the United States as well as international health services.