Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Has $12.42 Million Stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,991 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,258 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $12,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 56.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 261 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 246 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 19,946 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $6,910,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 5.5% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,603 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,020,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.12, for a total transaction of $1,511,020.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,065,198.52. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elder Granger sold 2,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.35, for a total transaction of $737,391.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,697,924.85. The trade was 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. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CI opened at $324.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $304.67 and a 200-day moving average of $314.08. The Cigna Group has a 12 month low of $262.03 and a 12 month high of $370.83. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $88.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.55, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The health services provider reported $6.64 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 period last year, the company posted $6.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from The Cigna Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. The Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CI shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $348.00 target price (down from $394.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on The Cigna Group from $390.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut The Cigna Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $323.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Cigna Group has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $373.25.

The Cigna Group 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.