Truist Financial Corp Sells 37,780 Shares of Sanofi $SNY

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp sold 37,780 Sanofi shares in Q4, trimming its stake by 6.5% to 539,031 shares valued at about $26.12 million.
• Sanofi raised its annual dividend to $2.4225 (ex-dividend May 4, payable June 3), up from $2.04, with a dividend payout ratio around 49.44%.
• Analyst views are mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Hold" with a $51.00 price target, despite several recent upgrades to "Strong Buy."

Truist Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 539,031 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,780 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Sanofi were worth $26,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in shares of Sanofi in the third quarter valued at approximately $171,742,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in Sanofi by 81.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 5,879,894 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,058,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635,867 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Sanofi by 10,152.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,200,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,846,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178,647 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Sanofi by 422.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,062,809 shares of the company's stock worth $50,165,000 after purchasing an additional 859,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Sanofi by 133.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,413,640 shares of the company's stock worth $66,681,000 after purchasing an additional 807,767 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.03% of the company's stock.

Sanofi Price Performance

Shares of Sanofi stock opened at $43.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $106.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $46.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.81. Sanofi has a twelve month low of $43.10 and a twelve month high of $53.36. 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 Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SNY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Sanofi in a research report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Sanofi from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Sanofi to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Argus raised Sanofi to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sanofi presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.00.

About Sanofi

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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