WBI Investments LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

WBI Investments LLC cut its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 88.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,617 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 11,881 shares during the quarter. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens lowered their price objective on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on The Cigna Group from $388.00 to $362.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on The Cigna Group from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $379.33.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

CI opened at $321.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $325.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $309.91. The Cigna Group has a 12-month low of $262.03 and a 12-month high of $370.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $85.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47.

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

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.44%.

The Cigna Group 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.