Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Trims Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. decreased its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,503 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 13,061 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $14,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CI. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stephens dropped their target price on The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $360.00 price target (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $373.25.

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Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at $9,065,198.52. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

The Cigna Group stock traded up $4.14 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $320.79. 1,287,842 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,565,016. The Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $262.03 and a 12 month high of $370.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $301.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $314.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.84 by ($1.20). The Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.61% and a net margin of 1.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from The Cigna Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group's payout ratio is 49.35%.

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.