Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires 9,661 Shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 24.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,860 shares of the health services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,661 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $16,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CI. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,872 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $4,916,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 3,669.7% in the third quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 24,013 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $8,319,000 after buying an additional 23,376 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 602,339 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $199,115,000 after buying an additional 18,733 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP grew its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 81,411 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $28,204,000 after acquiring an additional 5,397 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management increased its holdings in The Cigna Group by 3,886.9% in the 2nd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 3,947 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848 shares in the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on The Cigna Group from $398.00 to $394.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on The Cigna Group from $384.00 to $377.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $394.00 price objective (up from $392.00) on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $394.64.

The Cigna Group Price Performance

Shares of The Cigna Group stock traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $284.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,318,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,573,702. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $327.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $337.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $79.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.50. The Cigna Group has a one year low of $279.88 and a one year high of $370.83.

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

The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. The Cigna Group's payout ratio is 52.83%.

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.