British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Stake Decreased by Smith Moore & CO.

Smith Moore & CO. reduced its holdings in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,616 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTI. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,094,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,020 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,010,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,348,000 after acquiring an additional 137,231 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of British American Tobacco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,620,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in British American Tobacco by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 967,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,157,000 after purchasing an additional 111,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in British American Tobacco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,480,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BTI has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. UBS Group upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

British American Tobacco Stock Performance

BTI opened at $39.99 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $82.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.72. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a fifty-two week low of $28.25 and a fifty-two week high of $42.74.

British American Tobacco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, March 28th. British American Tobacco’s payout ratio is presently 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.