British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 2,738.81 ($34.02) and traded as high as GBX 2,981 ($37.03). British American Tobacco shares last traded at GBX 2,973 ($36.93), with a volume of 3,903,957 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a GBX 2,800 ($34.78) price objective on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

British American Tobacco Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is GBX 2,862.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 2,740.43. The company has a market capitalization of £65.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -477.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.14, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.88.

British American Tobacco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 19th will be issued a dividend of GBX 58.88 ($0.73) per share. This is a boost from British American Tobacco's previous dividend of $57.72. This represents a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. British American Tobacco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -3,794.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Tadeu Marroco purchased 48 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 2,716 ($33.74) per share, with a total value of £1,303.68 ($1,619.48). Insiders purchased a total of 58 shares of company stock worth $159,163 in the last quarter. 10.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

British American Tobacco Company Profile

BAT was founded in 1902 and was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1912. A constituent of the FTSE 100 since its creation in 1984, we have evolved, becoming the only truly global company in our sector. BAT is transforming and is well positioned with a global footprint and multi-category portfolio.