Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) Stock Position Lifted by Zimmer Partners LP

Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 488,300 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,800 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP’s holdings in Sanofi were worth $23,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Sanofi by 88.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,843,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,991,000 after acquiring an additional 5,091,304 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Sanofi in the fourth quarter worth approximately $135,933,000. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Sanofi by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,396,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,607,000 after buying an additional 2,501,073 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sanofi by 104.3% in the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 3,340,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,103,000 after buying an additional 1,705,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Sanofi by 969.6% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 950,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,850,000 after buying an additional 861,770 shares during the last quarter. 14.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SNY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Sanofi to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Friday, March 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Sanofi to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sanofi from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $63.33.

Sanofi Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Sanofi stock opened at $52.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.88. Sanofi has a 12-month low of $45.80 and a 12-month high of $60.12.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $10.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.79 billion. Sanofi had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 25.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Sanofi will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $2.0369 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Sanofi’s previous annual dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Sanofi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

Sanofi Profile

Sanofi, a healthcare company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of therapeutic solutions in the United States, Europe, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare segments. The company provides specialty care, such as DUPIXENT, neurology and immunology, rare diseases, oncology, and rare blood disorders; medicines for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases; and established prescription products.