Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 120,623 Shares of Cigna Group $CI

Key Points

• Franklin Resources cut its Cigna Group stake by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 120,623 shares and leaving it with 503,370 shares worth about $138.5 million.
• Cigna reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $7.79 beating expectations and revenue of $68.52 billion topping estimates; quarterly revenue rose 4.6% year over year.
• Cigna also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.56 per share, payable June 18, which annualizes to $6.24 per share for a 2.1% yield.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 503,370 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 120,623 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.19% of Cigna Group worth $138,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Cigna Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,173,577 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $7,203,754,000 after buying an additional 414,834 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Cigna Group by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,805,083 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $3,249,113,000 after buying an additional 903,334 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in Cigna Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 9,305,225 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $2,682,231,000 after buying an additional 354,615 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in Cigna Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 7,828,168 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $2,256,469,000 after buying an additional 35,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Cigna Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,051,370 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,658,055,000 after buying an additional 48,474 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cigna Group Stock Up 0.5%

CI stock opened at $296.34 on Thursday. Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $239.51 and a twelve month high of $338.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $78.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.28. The business's 50-day moving average price is $281.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.76.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The health services provider reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.19. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 2.26%.The firm had revenue of $68.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $66.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.74 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Cigna Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 30.350- EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cigna Group will post 30.39 EPS for the current year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a $1.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Cigna Group's payout ratio is currently 26.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Cordani sold 201,878 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.82, for a total value of $59,113,915.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,054,560.34. The trade was a 85.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Cigna Group from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Cigna Group from $358.00 to $371.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Cigna Group from $370.00 to $346.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Cigna Group from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cigna Group from $355.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $338.80.

Cigna Group Profile

Cigna Group NYSE: CI is a global health services company that offers a broad portfolio of healthcare products and insurance solutions for individuals, employers, and governments. Its core businesses include medical and behavioral health plans, dental and vision coverage, pharmacy benefit management, and supplemental health products. Cigna serves a mix of commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid customers and provides workplace benefits such as group health plans and disability and life benefits for employers.

In addition to traditional insurance products, Cigna operates health services and care-delivery platforms designed to manage costs and improve outcomes.

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