Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 12.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 233,271 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,962 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $9,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TrueMark Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 53.2% in the first quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 285,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,805,000 after acquiring an additional 99,086 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of British American Tobacco in the first quarter worth $206,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in British American Tobacco by 16.5% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 24,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 3,520 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in British American Tobacco by 25.1% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 52,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,190,000 after buying an additional 10,633 shares during the period. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in British American Tobacco by 14.7% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 1,878 shares during the period. 16.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BTI shares. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Bank of America started coverage on British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, British American Tobacco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

British American Tobacco Stock Down 0.4%

BTI opened at $48.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $100.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a 12 month low of $30.81 and a 12 month high of $49.58.

British American Tobacco Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.7391 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.99%. British American Tobacco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.09%.

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.