Whittier Trust Co. Increases Stake in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Free Report) by 53.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,720 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,657 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $898,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on BTI shares. StockNews.com raised shares of British American Tobacco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. UBS Group upgraded British American Tobacco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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British American Tobacco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BTI traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.14. 3,749,315 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,480,499. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.62. The firm has a market cap of $85.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.50. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a twelve month low of $28.25 and a twelve month high of $42.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.7491 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. British American Tobacco's payout ratio is 60.57%.

British American Tobacco 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.