Newport Trust Company LLC Buys Shares of 772,199 Sanofi $SNY

Newport Trust Company LLC bought a new stake in Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 772,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,421,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SNY. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sanofi in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Sanofi in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Sanofi in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Sanofi by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sanofi in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 14.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sanofi Price Performance

Sanofi stock opened at $44.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $109.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.35. Sanofi has a 52-week low of $42.33 and a 52-week high of $53.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.25.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $2.4225 per share. This is a boost from Sanofi’s previous annual dividend of $2.04. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a yield of 559.0%. Sanofi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SNY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered shares of Sanofi from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Sanofi in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sanofi from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Argus upgraded shares of Sanofi to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Sanofi from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sanofi currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.00.

Sanofi Company 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.