Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $REGN

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,453,143 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 139,647 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.33% of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals worth $1,379,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals by 87.5% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 75 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 83.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.2%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $772.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 4.13. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $476.49 and a fifty-two week high of $821.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $770.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $692.02.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $11.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.74 by $0.70. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 13.04% and a net margin of 31.41%.The company had revenue of $3.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $12.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 35.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on REGN. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals from $650.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $923.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $865.00 price target (up from $750.00) on shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.27.

Insider Transactions at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals

In other Regeneron Pharmaceuticals news, SVP Jason Pitofsky sold 2,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $778.52, for a total transaction of $1,585,066.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,272 shares in the company, valued at $3,325,837.44. This represents a 32.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bonnie L. Bassler sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $800.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,703 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,400. This represents a 46.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 5,274 shares of company stock worth $4,142,738 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.02% of the company’s stock.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: REGN) is a U.S.-based biotechnology company founded in 1988 and headquartered in Tarrytown, New York. It focuses on discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing medicines for serious medical conditions. The company combines laboratory research, clinical development and in-house manufacturing to advance a pipeline of biologic therapies across multiple therapeutic areas.

Regeneron is known for its proprietary drug discovery technologies, including its VelocImmune platform, which is used to generate fully human monoclonal antibodies.