Versant Capital Management Inc Has $576,000 Stock Position in Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY)

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Free Report) by 830.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,387 shares of the company's stock after buying 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.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Sanofi by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 639,772 shares of the company's stock worth $36,869,000 after purchasing an additional 331,445 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sanofi by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,420 shares of the company's stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 1,869 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Sanofi during the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sanofi in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Abel Hall LLC grew its stake in shares of Sanofi by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 10,990 shares of the company's stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.04% of the company's stock.

Sanofi Trading Down 5.6%

Sanofi stock traded down $2.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.40. The stock had a trading volume of 4,670,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,402,932. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.55. Sanofi has a 12 month low of $45.80 and a 12 month high of $60.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.92.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $10.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sanofi will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $2.0369 dividend. This represents a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Sanofi's previous annual dividend of $1.48. Sanofi's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Sanofi to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Friday, March 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Sanofi in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $63.33.

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.