Lazard Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,329 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sanofi were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNY. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Sanofi during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Sanofi by 952.6% in the fourth quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sanofi in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sanofi by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sanofi in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 14.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SNY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Sanofi to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Sanofi to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Sanofi from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sanofi currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Sanofi Price Performance

Sanofi stock opened at $52.51 on Friday. Sanofi has a 12-month low of $45.80 and a 12-month high of $60.12. The stock has a market cap of $132.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. Sanofi had a return on equity of 25.61% and a net margin of 12.77%. The business had revenue of $10.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sanofi will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

Sanofi Company 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.