British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Shares Sold by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC reduced its stake in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 91.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,234 shares of the company’s stock after selling 94,051 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BTI. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,105,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,868,675 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in British American Tobacco by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,010,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,348,000 after purchasing an additional 137,231 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of British American Tobacco during the fourth quarter worth $55,620,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 967,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,157,000 after buying an additional 111,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in British American Tobacco during the 4th quarter worth about $31,480,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports 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 upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

BTI stock opened at $41.14 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $39.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.65. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $85.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.50. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a 1 year low of $28.25 and a 1 year high of $42.74.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

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

British American Tobacco Company 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.