Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) Plans Dividend Increase - $1.48 Per Share

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) declared an annual dividend on Tuesday, March 26th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of 1.478 per share on Thursday, June 6th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Sanofi's previous annual dividend of $1.38.

Sanofi has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.8% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Sanofi has a payout ratio of 40.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Sanofi to earn $4.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.90 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.3%.

Sanofi Stock Performance

Shares of SNY stock traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $48.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,414,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,855,595. The firm has a market cap of $122.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Sanofi has a 1-year low of $42.63 and a 1-year high of $57.82. The business's fifty day moving average is $48.12 and its 200-day moving average is $49.41.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $11.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.02 billion. Sanofi had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 27.47%. On average, research analysts forecast that Sanofi will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Sanofi from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 5th. TheStreet downgraded Sanofi from a "b" rating to a "c" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sanofi from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sanofi presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.00.

Institutional Trading of Sanofi

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SNY. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Sanofi by 276.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,362,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,611,000 after buying an additional 2,468,271 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Sanofi by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,733,069 shares of the company's stock worth $374,513,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251,199 shares during the last quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sanofi during the first quarter worth $41,800,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Sanofi in the 4th quarter valued at $38,108,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Sanofi by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,643,615 shares of the company's stock worth $132,260,000 after purchasing an additional 515,245 shares during the last quarter. 10.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Sanofi

Sanofi, a healthcare company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of therapeutic solutions in the United States, Europe, 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.