Parallel Advisors LLC Trims Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Parallel Advisors LLC reduced its position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,163 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 395 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $874,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CI. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. 86.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $3,182,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,289,920. This represents a 42.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Cordani sold 26,527 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total value of $8,173,499.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,367,568.04. This represents a 17.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,751 shares of company stock worth $13,603,991. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price objective on The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded 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. StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on The Cigna Group from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.31.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

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

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $6.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is 49.35%.

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.