Portland Investment Counsel Inc. Invests $62.30 Million in Cigna Group $CI

Portland Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 226,000 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $62,304,000. Cigna Group accounts for 17.4% of Portland Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Cigna Group by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,160 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,225 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $7,347,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Cigna Group by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 148,840 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $49,204,000 after buying an additional 21,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cigna Group in the 2nd quarter worth $163,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Cigna Group from $370.00 to $346.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Cigna Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Cigna Group from $371.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Cigna Group from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on Cigna Group from $338.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.45.

Cigna Group Trading Down 0.5%

CI opened at $276.19 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $284.20 and its 200-day moving average is $281.45. Cigna Group has a 52-week low of $239.51 and a 52-week high of $315.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.29.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The health services provider reported $7.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $70.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.14 billion. Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.20 earnings per share. Cigna Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 30.450- EPS. Analysts expect that Cigna Group will post 30.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $1.56 dividend. This represents a $6.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Cigna Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jamie G. Kates sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicole S. Jones sold 2,677 shares of Cigna Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.61, for a total value of $748,515.97. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,236,306.80. The trade was a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 23,012 shares of company stock valued at $6,386,550 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Cigna Group Company 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.