Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) Raises Dividend to $1.48 Per Share

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) declared an annual dividend on Tuesday, March 26th, Zacks reports. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Sanofi’s previous annual dividend of $1.38.

Sanofi has increased 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% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 opened at $49.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.42. Sanofi has a 12 month low of $42.63 and a 12 month high of $57.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.61.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $11.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.02 billion. Sanofi had a return on equity of 27.47% and a net margin of 12.56%. Analysts forecast that Sanofi will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SNY shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Sanofi in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Sanofi from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. TheStreet downgraded Sanofi from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Sanofi from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. One equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sanofi currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sanofi

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Sanofi by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,047,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $546,804,000 after buying an additional 249,619 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Sanofi by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,733,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251,199 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 2.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,077,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,697,000 after purchasing an additional 112,404 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,503,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,982,000 after acquiring an additional 305,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Sanofi by 276.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,362,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,468,271 shares during the last quarter. 10.04% of the stock is currently 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.