Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Cuts Stake in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its position in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 26.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 229,768 shares of the company’s stock after selling 82,935 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $9,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 493,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,922,000 after purchasing an additional 7,875 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $221,343,000 after buying an additional 1,196,020 shares in the last quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in British American Tobacco during the fourth quarter worth $1,050,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in British American Tobacco by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 196,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,121,000 after acquiring an additional 17,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmp Inc. acquired a new stake in British American Tobacco in the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BTI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, British American Tobacco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

British American Tobacco Stock Performance

Shares of BTI stock opened at $47.79 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.09. 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 stock has a market cap of $98.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.81 and a beta of 0.31. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a 1 year low of $30.29 and a 1 year high of $47.86.

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.