Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Cigna Group $CI

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its Cigna stake by 37.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,363 shares and leaving it with 12,263 shares valued at about $3.38 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with CEO David Cordani selling 201,878 shares and CAO Jamie G. Kates selling 899 shares; insiders now own just 0.60% of the company.
• Cigna beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $7.79 on revenue of $68.52 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $338.30.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 37.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,263 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 7,363 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Cigna Group were worth $3,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compound Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,944 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cigna Group by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,421,775 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $666,545,000 after purchasing an additional 521,273 shares in the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cigna Group in the fourth quarter valued at $361,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 47,873 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $13,176,000 after purchasing an additional 3,654 shares during the period. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at $272,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 201,878 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.82, for a total transaction of $59,113,915.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,054,560.34. This represents a 85.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Jamie G. Kates sold 899 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.61, for a total value of $268,450.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,108.48. This trade represents a 27.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CI. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Mizuho raised their target price on Cigna Group from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Cigna Group from $358.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Cigna Group from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Cigna Group from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $338.30.

Cigna Group Stock Performance

Cigna Group stock opened at $279.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $73.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.28. Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $239.51 and a 12 month high of $338.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $283.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

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

Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $1.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Cigna Group's dividend payout ratio is 26.45%.

Cigna Group Company 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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