Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 3,751 Shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,717 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,751 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sanofi were worth $732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SNY. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sanofi by 98.4% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sanofi by 289.1% during the first quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 463 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Sanofi in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sanofi in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sanofi by 163.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 10.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SNY shares. TheStreet lowered Sanofi from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sanofi from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Sanofi in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Sanofi Stock Performance

Shares of SNY stock opened at $46.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $117.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.61. Sanofi has a 12 month low of $42.63 and a 12 month high of $57.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.05). The business 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Sanofi will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $1.478 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.98%. This is an increase from Sanofi’s previous annual dividend of $1.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Sanofi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.47%.

Sanofi 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.