Trillium Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Trillium Asset Management LLC cut its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,032 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 656 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in The Cigna Group during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $320.74 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $315.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The Cigna Group has a 1 year low of $262.03 and a 1 year high of $370.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.66.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company earned $6.79 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of 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 note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $400.00 to $375.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price target on The Cigna Group in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $372.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. The trade was a 30.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $8,173,499.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares of the company’s stock, 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 have sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.