Dodge & Cox Sells 1,076,595 Shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY)

Dodge & Cox lessened its position in shares of Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,220,588 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,076,595 shares during the quarter. Sanofi comprises about 2.1% of Dodge & Cox's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Dodge & Cox owned approximately 2.96% of Sanofi worth $3,627,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNY. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Sanofi by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,270,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Sanofi by 107.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 639,772 shares of the company's stock worth $36,869,000 after purchasing an additional 331,445 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 7.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 254,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,681,000 after purchasing an additional 16,780 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 16.6% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,081 shares of the company's stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sanofi by 72.1% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 747 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. 14.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on SNY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Sanofi to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Sanofi in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Sanofi in a research report on Friday, March 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Sanofi from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.33.

Sanofi Price Performance

NASDAQ:SNY traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.90. 2,856,361 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,350,625. The business has a 50 day moving average of $54.73 and a 200 day moving average of $52.17. The company has a market capitalization of $128.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Sanofi has a 1-year low of $45.80 and a 1-year high of $60.12.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. Sanofi had a net margin of 12.77% and a return on equity of 25.61%. Research analysts forecast that Sanofi will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.0369 per share. This represents a yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Sanofi's previous annual dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Sanofi's payout ratio is presently 64.26%.

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.