Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Stock Position in Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY)

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 199,138 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Sanofi were worth $9,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SNY. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Sanofi by 88.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,091,304 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Sanofi in the fourth quarter worth $135,933,000. Boston Partners raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,501,073 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,705,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Regal Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Sanofi in the fourth quarter worth $35,034,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.04% of the company’s stock.

Sanofi Stock Down 4.1%

Sanofi stock opened at $49.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.55. Sanofi has a fifty-two week low of $45.80 and a fifty-two week high of $60.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $54.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.00.

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

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.0369 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Sanofi’s previous annual dividend of $1.48. Sanofi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on SNY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Sanofi from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Sanofi in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Sanofi in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Sanofi to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Sanofi to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Sanofi Company 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.