AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Takes $430,000 Position in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 67.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,105,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,868,675 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in British American Tobacco in the 4th quarter valued at $55,620,000. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the 4th quarter worth $31,480,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the third quarter valued at about $28,183,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of British American Tobacco during the third quarter worth about $27,118,000. 16.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 0.8 %

BTI stock opened at $41.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.65. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a 52 week low of $28.25 and a 52 week high of $42.74. The company has a market cap of $85.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.50.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.7491 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. British American Tobacco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BTI. UBS Group raised British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th.

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.