Wealthfront Advisers LLC Sells 28,861 Shares of Cigna Group $CI

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC cut its Cigna Group position by 60.6% in the first quarter, selling 28,861 shares and leaving it with 18,800 shares worth about $5.0 million.
• Cigna’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $7.79 EPS versus the $7.60 estimate and revenue of $68.52 billion; the company also reiterated strong full-year earnings guidance, with analysts forecasting about 30.39 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Wall Street remains cautiously positive on CI, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $338.80, while the stock recently traded around $281.72 and pays a quarterly dividend of $1.56 per share.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 60.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,800 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 28,861 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Cigna Group were worth $5,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Cigna Group by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 18,842 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $5,026,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Cigna Group by 6.9% during the first quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,717 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc grew its holdings in Cigna Group by 72.3% during the first quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 23,535 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $6,278,000 after purchasing an additional 9,873 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Cigna Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,688,636 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $450,443,000 after buying an additional 37,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Cigna Group by 23.2% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 18,769 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $5,007,000 after buying an additional 3,533 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CI. Wall Street Zen raised Cigna Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Cigna Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $303.00 to $302.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $337.00 target price on shares of Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Cigna Group from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Cigna Group in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $338.80.

Cigna Group Stock Performance

NYSE CI opened at $281.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $239.51 and a twelve month high of $315.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $286.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.40. The firm has a market cap of $74.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.29.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The health services provider reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.19. Cigna Group had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 2.26%.The company had revenue of $68.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.74 EPS. The firm'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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cigna Group will post 30.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Cigna Group

In other news, CEO David Cordani sold 201,878 shares of Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.82, for a total transaction of $59,113,915.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 34,337 shares in the company, valued at $10,054,560.34. This trade represents a 85.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.61, for a total transaction of $268,450.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,368 shares in the company, valued at $707,108.48. This trade represents a 27.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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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