Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 850 Shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,737 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $2,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTI. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 24,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 7,686 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 131,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,824,000 after acquiring an additional 26,863 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,085,000 after purchasing an additional 43,098 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in British American Tobacco by 89.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 66,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 31,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in British American Tobacco by 67.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,105,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,868,675 shares in the last quarter. 16.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. UBS Group raised British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

Shares of British American Tobacco stock opened at $40.53 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $83.94 billion, a PE ratio of 8.32 and a beta of 0.50. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a twelve month low of $28.25 and a twelve month high of $42.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.64.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.7491 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. British American Tobacco’s payout ratio is currently 60.57%.

About British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco p.l.c. engages in the provision of tobacco and nicotine products to consumers worldwide. It also offers vapour, heated, and modern oral nicotine products; combustible cigarettes; and traditional oral products, such as snus and moist snuff. The company offers its products under the Vuse, glo, Velo, Grizzly, Kodiak, Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Rothmans, Camel, Natural American Spirit, Newport, Vogue, Viceroy, Kool, Peter Stuyvesant, Craven A, State Express 555 and Shuang Xi brands.