Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) Stock Holdings Lifted by NBC Securities Inc.

NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Free Report) by 109,190.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,951 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,930 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Sanofi were worth $1,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Sanofi in the first quarter valued at about $205,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its stake in Sanofi by 12.8% during the first quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 9,333 shares of the company's stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sanofi by 29.5% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,617 shares of the company's stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First County Bank CT bought a new position in Sanofi during the first quarter worth $442,000. 14.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Sanofi to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Sanofi in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Sanofi in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $63.33.

Sanofi Price Performance

Sanofi stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $49.50. 1,392,171 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,404,158. Sanofi has a 1-year low of $45.80 and a 1-year high of $60.12. The firm has a market cap of $121.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $52.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Sanofi's previous annual dividend of $1.48. This represents a yield of 3.1%. Sanofi's dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

About Sanofi

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.