Banco Santander S.A. Boosts Holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) by 1,749.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,147 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,328 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $5,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CI. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,584 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 1.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,206 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.6% during the third quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 4.7% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 692 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $402.00 to $422.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. StockNews.com downgraded The Cigna Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of The Cigna Group from $405.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.64.

The Cigna Group Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE CI opened at $330.71 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $336.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $338.97. The Cigna Group has a fifty-two week low of $253.95 and a fifty-two week high of $370.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $91.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.51.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The health services provider reported $7.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.22 by $0.29. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 18.42%. The firm had revenue of $63.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.77 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Cigna Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. The Cigna Group’s payout ratio is 52.83%.

About The Cigna Group

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.