Equitable Holdings Inc. Acquires New Position in Cigna Group $CI

Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,469 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $956,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CI. Evercore Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Cigna Group by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,301 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 363 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC now owns 829 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its position in Cigna Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 801 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Cigna Group Price Performance

NYSE:CI opened at $278.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $73.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $283.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $281.39. Cigna Group has a 1-year low of $239.51 and a 1-year high of $315.47.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $7.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $70.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Cigna Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 30.450- EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Cigna Group will post 30.51 EPS for the current year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $1.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.82%.

Insider Activity

In other Cigna Group news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 19,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.27, for a total value of $5,369,583.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,530,015.12. This trade represents a 41.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Jamie G. Kates sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,108.48. This trade represents a 27.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,012 shares of company stock valued at $6,386,550. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CI shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $336.00 to $307.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Cigna Group from $370.00 to $346.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Cigna Group from $371.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $303.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.45.

Cigna Group Company Profile

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.