The Cigna Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CI)

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 23,638 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 510% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,877 call options.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CI traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $348.96. 251,839 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,572,467. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $350.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $320.21. The firm has a market cap of $99.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.57. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $240.50 and a twelve month high of $365.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.17 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $57.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.59 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 28.45 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on CI shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (up from $382.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised The Cigna Group from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on The Cigna Group from $334.00 to $348.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $366.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Cigna Group news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was 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 $110,394,985.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 38,065 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.22, for a total transaction of $12,760,149.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,394,985.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 6,083 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.00, for a total value of $2,068,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,649 shares in the company, valued at $15,180,660. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,277 shares of company stock worth $37,687,884 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Cigna Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 61.4% in the fourth quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 9,307 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,772,000 after buying an additional 3,539 shares in the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $4,377,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $2,811,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 293,438 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $87,870,000 after buying an additional 66,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $2,244,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.