LPL Financial LLC Acquires 24,578 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 181,438 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,578 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.07% of The Cigna Group worth $50,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,855,443 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,021,563,000 after purchasing an additional 22,408 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,254,050 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $628,579,000 after acquiring an additional 374,865 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,168,959 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $751,414,000 after acquiring an additional 44,810 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,977,758 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $546,138,000 after acquiring an additional 64,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Cigna Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $313,911,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CI opened at $324.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $303.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $314.31. The Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $262.03 and a 52-week high of $370.83. The company has a market cap of $88.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Cigna Group will post 29.77 EPS for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors 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 yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group

In other The Cigna Group news, insider Noelle K. Eder sold 9,944 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $3,182,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,289,920. This represents a 42.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 4,904 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 29,421 shares in the company, valued at $9,065,198.52. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,751 shares of company stock valued at $13,603,991. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CI. Royal Bank of Canada set a $355.00 price target on The Cigna Group in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $360.00 target price (down from $415.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of The Cigna Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $370.00 to $341.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $348.00 target price (down 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, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $373.25.

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.