Whittier Trust Co. Acquires 8,657 Shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 53.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,720 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,657 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GM Advisory Group LLC increased its position in British American Tobacco by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 14,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc raised its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 5,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 44,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 2,649 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in British American Tobacco by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. 16.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

British American Tobacco Price Performance

British American Tobacco stock opened at $40.83 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $84.56 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 0.50. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a one year low of $28.25 and a one year high of $42.74.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

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