Bloomfield-based health insurer Cigna plans to repurchase $2 billion worth of its common stock, a move executives said underscores their confidence in the conglomerate’s long-term growth prospects.
Cigna expects to receive an initial delivery of approximately 7.7 million shares through accelerated stock repurchase agreements with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase. The buyback transaction is expected to close some time in the fourth quarter of this year, when the final number of reclaimed shares will be determined.
“Today’s announcement is further evidence of the confidence of the management team and our board of directors in Cigna’s financial strength and long-term growth strategy,” said President and CEO David M. Cordani. “This accelerated share repurchase is consistent with our commitment to return a significant amount of capital to shareholders.”
The new repurchase agreement, combined with an earlier share buyback and an increased dividend, will return more than $7 billion in capital to investors in 2021, Cordani added.
As of this week, Cigna had about 340 million shares outstanding.
