British American Tobacco (LON:BATS) Insider Tadeu Marroco Purchases 4 Shares

Key Points

• Tadeu Marroco, a British American Tobacco insider, bought 4 shares on March 4 at GBX 4,503 each (total £180.12), adding to small purchases in January and February and indicating continued insider buying, though immaterial in size.
• Analysts are mixed: three brokers rate the stock a "Buy" with targets raised up to GBX 5,200, but MarketBeat's consensus is a "Hold" with an average price target of GBX 4,500, close to the current share price.
• Key company metrics: BAT has a market cap of £96.42 billion, a P/E of 31.90, quarterly EPS of GBX 176.76 and a net margin of 30.23%, suggesting strong profitability alongside a relatively rich valuation.

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) insider Tadeu Marroco bought 4 shares of British American Tobacco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 4,503 per share, with a total value of £180.12.

Tadeu Marroco also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 4th, Tadeu Marroco purchased 3 shares of British American Tobacco stock. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 4,562 per share, with a total value of £136.86.
• On Wednesday, January 7th, Tadeu Marroco acquired 4 shares of British American Tobacco stock. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 4,001 per share, for a total transaction of £160.04.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

BATS stock opened at GBX 4,444 on Thursday. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a one year low of GBX 2,916 and a one year high of GBX 4,806. The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 4,342.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 4,188.31. The firm has a market capitalization of £96.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 74.60.

British American Tobacco (LON:BATS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported GBX 176.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. British American Tobacco had a net margin of 30.23% and a return on equity of 16.33%. On average, analysts forecast that British American Tobacco p.l.c. will post 361.5079365 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BATS shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a GBX 5,200 target price on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,450 to GBX 4,850 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 4,400 to GBX 4,900 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of British American Tobacco from GBX 3,300 to GBX 4,150 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of GBX 4,500.

About British American Tobacco

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. Our corporate purpose is to build A Better Tomorrow™, reducing the health impact of our business, by offering adult consumers a greater choice of enjoyable and less risky*† products compared to cigarettes.

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