Sanofi $SNY Shares Sold by UBS Group AG

Key Points

• UBS trimmed its Sanofi stake by 3.6% in Q4, selling 45,483 shares and leaving 1,222,003 shares worth about $59.2 million.
• Several other institutions boosted or initiated positions — notably Raymond James (+81.3% to 5.88M shares, ≈$284M) and Mondrian (new ≈$171.7M stake) — with total institutional ownership around 14.03%.
• Sanofi raised its annual dividend to $2.4225 (ex-dividend May 4, payable June 3), while analysts maintain a consensus rating of Hold with an average target price of $51.00.

UBS Group AG reduced its position in shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,222,003 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,483 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.05% of Sanofi worth $59,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sanofi by 81.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,879,894 shares of the company's stock worth $284,058,000 after buying an additional 2,635,867 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in shares of Sanofi in the third quarter worth $171,742,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sanofi by 11.8% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,113,381 shares of the company's stock worth $146,952,000 after buying an additional 327,569 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp increased its stake in shares of Sanofi by 3.0% in the third quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,587,690 shares of the company's stock worth $122,139,000 after buying an additional 75,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sanofi by 19.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,338,969 shares of the company's stock worth $110,399,000 after buying an additional 379,784 shares during the last quarter. 14.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SNY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $52.00 target price on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Friday. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Sanofi in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Bank of America cut Sanofi from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Sanofi from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sanofi currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $51.00.

Sanofi Stock Up 0.0%

Sanofi stock opened at $43.36 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.01. Sanofi has a one year low of $43.10 and a one year high of $54.75.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $2.4225 per share. This is an increase from Sanofi's previous annual dividend of $2.04. This represents a dividend yield of 559.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. Sanofi's payout ratio is currently 49.44%.

Sanofi Profile

Sanofi NASDAQ: SNY is a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in France that researches, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and consumer healthcare products. The company operates across multiple therapeutic areas, including immunology, rare diseases, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and vaccines through its Sanofi Pasteur division. Sanofi sells products to hospitals, clinics, governments and retail pharmacies, with a broad global footprint and significant presence in Europe, North America and emerging markets.

Key commercial offerings include specialty biologics and established small-molecule medicines.

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