Townsend & Associates Inc Sells 571 Shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Townsend & Associates Inc trimmed its stake in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,967 shares of the company’s stock after selling 571 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $2,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 15,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 5,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BTI shares. UBS Group upgraded British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th.

British American Tobacco Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of BTI stock opened at $37.80 on Friday. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a 52-week low of $28.25 and a 52-week high of $42.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.38 billion, a PE ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.05.

British American Tobacco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.7391 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 30th. British American Tobacco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.14%.

British American Tobacco Profile

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.