Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 1,205 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 73.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 437 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 1,205 shares during the quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,556,278 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,191,151,000 after acquiring an additional 501,320 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in The Cigna Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,957,180 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,640,878,000 after purchasing an additional 101,737 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,021,582 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,110,520,000 after buying an additional 737,099 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of The Cigna Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $867,785,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,927,223 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $808,323,000 after buying an additional 286,515 shares during the period. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on CI shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $410.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 price target (down previously from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $373.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at $9,065,198.52. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total value of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. This represents a 30.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $322.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $262.03 and a twelve month high of $370.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $308.72 and its 200 day moving average is $312.70. The company has a market cap of $88.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.50.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.