Equity Investment Corp Boosts Stake in Sanofi $SNY

Equity Investment Corp grew its stake in Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,624,212 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,522 shares during the period. Sanofi makes up about 2.6% of Equity Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Equity Investment Corp owned 0.11% of Sanofi worth $127,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sanofi in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sanofi in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sanofi in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sanofi by 544.4% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sanofi by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

Sanofi Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of SNY opened at $44.11 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.56. Sanofi has a twelve month low of $42.28 and a twelve month high of $52.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.34.

Sanofi Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $2.4225 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 559.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This is a positive change from Sanofi’s previous annual dividend of $2.04. Sanofi’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SNY. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Sanofi in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sanofi from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Bank of America cut shares of Sanofi from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Sanofi to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.