Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) Increases 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 given 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 an increase 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% 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 Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:SNY opened at $49.54 on Thursday. Sanofi has a 52-week low of $42.63 and a 52-week high of $57.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $125.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.61.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) last posted 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 company had revenue of $11.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.02 billion. Sanofi had a return on equity of 27.47% and a net margin of 12.56%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sanofi will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Sanofi

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sanofi by 289.1% in the first quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Sanofi during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sanofi in the second quarter worth $28,000. O Dell Group LLC bought a new position in Sanofi during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, First Manhattan Co. increased its position in shares of Sanofi by 42.7% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 10.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Sanofi from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Sanofi in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Sanofi from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, TheStreet cut Sanofi from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sanofi presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Sanofi Company Profile

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.