Versant Capital Management Inc Raises Position in Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY)

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) by 830.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,387 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,271 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Sanofi were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Sanofi by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,059,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $581,619,000 after purchasing an additional 408,752 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Sanofi by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,017,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $579,587,000 after buying an additional 441,637 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake 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 valued at $522,991,000 after buying an additional 5,091,304 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Sanofi by 86.4% during the 4th 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. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sanofi by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,776,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,164,000 after acquiring an additional 369,530 shares in the last quarter. 14.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sanofi Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SNY opened at $52.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $132.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.55. Sanofi has a twelve month low of $45.80 and a twelve month high of $60.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $2.0369 per share. This is an increase from Sanofi’s previous annual dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Sanofi’s dividend payout ratio is 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.