Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 8,461 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 109% compared to the average volume of 4,057 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Cordani bought 4,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $241.88 per share, with a total value of $999,931.92. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 157,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,201,317.80. This represents a 2.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 5,368 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $1,610,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 51,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,354,600. This represents a 9.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cigna Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Cigna Group by 86,071.1% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,475,282 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,148,859,000 after buying an additional 3,471,249 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cigna Group during the second quarter worth $1,110,426,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 140.2% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,179,301 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $916,434,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855,897 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Cigna Group by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,056,806 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,966,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Cigna Group by 54.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,136,311 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $615,781,000 after purchasing an additional 753,865 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cigna Group Stock Performance

Cigna Group stock opened at $276.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $73.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $239.51 and a 1 year high of $350.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $279.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.37.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The health services provider reported $7.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.64 by $0.19. Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.29% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The business had revenue of $69.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.51 earnings per share. Cigna Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Cigna Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 29.600- EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is 26.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Cigna Group from $428.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Cigna Group from $370.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Cigna Group from $346.00 to $294.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $318.00 target price on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.83.

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.