Ethic Inc. Sells 3,343 Shares of Cigna Group $CI

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in Cigna Group by 10.3%, selling 3,343 shares and holding a total of 29,127 shares valued at approximately $9.5 million.
• Cigna Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $369.89, supported by various analysts including Barclays and The Goldman Sachs Group.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.51 per share, representing a 2.0% dividend yield, payable on December 18th to investors of record on December 4th.

Ethic Inc. cut its position in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 10.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,127 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 3,343 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Cigna Group were worth $9,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Cigna Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in Cigna Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Cigna Group by 360.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 92 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Cigna Group by 115.6% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 97 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Cigna Group by 74.1% during the second quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 101 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Cigna Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Cigna Group from $345.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Truist Financial set a $375.00 price objective on Cigna Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Cigna Group from $354.00 to $383.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Cigna Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $370.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cigna Group news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 28,526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $8,557,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,648 shares in the company, valued at $7,694,400. This trade represents a 52.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 5,368 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $1,610,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,182 shares in the company, valued at $15,354,600. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of CI stock opened at $308.30 on Thursday. Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $256.89 and a 52-week high of $350.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $298.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.81.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The health services provider reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.15 by $0.05. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 1.92%.The firm had revenue of $67.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.72 EPS. Cigna Group's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Cigna Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 29.600- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cigna Group will post 29.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.97%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.