Capital International Sarl Grows Stock Position in British American Tobacco p.l.c. $BTI

Capital International Sarl boosted its stake in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 36.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,815 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,566 shares during the quarter. Capital International Sarl’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $3,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BTI. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 12,870.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,470,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,687,000 after acquiring an additional 9,397,693 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 14,503,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,473,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482,737 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,057,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,399,352,000 after buying an additional 1,891,042 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,934,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,099,000 after buying an additional 1,578,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 85.1% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,757,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,515,000 after buying an additional 1,267,425 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 0.3%

BTI stock opened at $59.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.57. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a 12-month low of $46.38 and a 12-month high of $67.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BTI. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded British American Tobacco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

About British American Tobacco

British American Tobacco plc (BTI) is a multinational tobacco manufacturer and nicotine products company headquartered in London. Founded in 1902 as a joint venture to commercialize tobacco products outside the United States, the company has grown into one of the world’s largest tobacco firms with a long history in manufacturing and global distribution of combustible tobacco products.

BAT’s core business remains the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products under a portfolio of well-known consumer brands, including Dunhill, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Kent and Rothmans.