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

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sanofi in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Sanofi in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Sanofi in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Sanofi by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new position in Sanofi in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

Sanofi Stock Performance

SNY opened at $44.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.35. Sanofi has a twelve month low of $42.33 and a twelve month high of $53.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The company 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 $2.4225 dividend. This represents a yield of 559.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This is a positive change from Sanofi’s previous annual dividend of $2.04. Sanofi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Sanofi in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Sanofi to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sanofi from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Sanofi to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sanofi currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

About Sanofi

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.