Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. Boosts Stock Position in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI)

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its stake in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Free Report) by 61.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,307 shares of the health services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,539 shares during the period. The Cigna Group accounts for about 1.1% of Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.'s holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $2,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CI. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,377,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,811,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in The Cigna Group by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 293,438 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $87,870,000 after purchasing an additional 66,891 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in The Cigna Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,244,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in The Cigna Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 147,414 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $44,143,000 after purchasing an additional 11,416 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total transaction of $1,608,446.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $694,668.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other The Cigna Group news, SVP Hoeltzel Mary T. Agoglia sold 4,867 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.48, for a total value of $1,608,446.16. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at $694,668.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric P. Palmer sold 1,017 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.26, for a total transaction of $340,959.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,275,786.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 114,144 shares of company stock valued at $39,296,330. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Cigna Group Stock Performance

CI stock traded up $2.70 during trading on Thursday, reaching $348.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,615,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,606,200. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $347.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $314.79. The company has a market cap of $101.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $240.50 and a twelve month high of $365.71.

The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The health services provider reported $6.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.25. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 13.59%. The company had revenue of $51.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.96 EPS. The Cigna Group's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Cigna Group will post 28.36 earnings per share for the current year.

The Cigna Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from The Cigna Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.23. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The Cigna Group's payout ratio is presently 32.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of The Cigna Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $330.00 to $372.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $327.00 to $354.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $384.00 price target on shares of The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $355.00 to $370.00 in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Cigna Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Cigna Group presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $362.14.

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.