First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stake in Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 895,324 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 44,027 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Sanofi were worth $43,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SNY. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Sanofi by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sanofi by 7.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 254,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,681,000 after purchasing an additional 16,780 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Sanofi by 20.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,310,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,172,000 after purchasing an additional 399,301 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Sanofi in the 4th quarter worth approximately $436,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 1,020.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 48,430 shares of the company's stock worth $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 44,108 shares during the last quarter. 14.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on SNY. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Sanofi to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Sanofi from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Friday, March 21st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Sanofi in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Sanofi Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:SNY traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $53.68. 593,354 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,357,020. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.57. Sanofi has a 12 month low of $45.80 and a 12 month high of $60.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.51 and a 200 day moving average of $52.03.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Sanofi will post 4.36 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is a boost from Sanofi's previous annual dividend of $1.48. This represents a dividend yield of 3.1%. Sanofi's 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.