The Cigna Group (CI) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.40 on June 20th

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of 1.40 per share by the health services provider on Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%.

The Cigna Group has raised its dividend by an average of 397.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. The Cigna Group has a payout ratio of 17.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect The Cigna Group to earn $31.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.5%.

The Cigna Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $354.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.56. The Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $240.50 and a 1-year high of $365.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $349.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $317.35.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The firm had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total value of $1,608,446.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 329,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,394,985.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 114,144 shares of company stock worth $39,296,330 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CI. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $330.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $384.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $362.14.

The Cigna Group Company 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.