The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 64,643 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 10,006 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $17,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other The Cigna Group news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,924.85. This represents a 30.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CI. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $379.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $388.00 price target (up from $384.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.33.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Cigna Group stock opened at $301.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $80.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. The Cigna Group has a 52 week low of $262.03 and a 52 week high of $370.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $325.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $309.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.35 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $65.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.39 billion. The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. The Cigna Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 3rd. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.44%.

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.