British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Shares Acquired by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Free Report) by 41.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 193,292 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,084 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp's holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $7,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 38,873,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,411,179,000 after purchasing an additional 5,673,619 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,594,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $566,381,000 after purchasing an additional 47,439 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,232,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,641,000 after acquiring an additional 3,127,046 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,094,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,343,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 261.7% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,681,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,940,035 shares during the last quarter. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BTI. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Bank of America began coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.00.

British American Tobacco Trading Down 0.7%

BTI traded down $0.36 on Friday, reaching $52.26. 4,471,287 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,016,040. The company's 50 day moving average is $48.27 and its 200-day moving average is $43.10. The company has a market cap of $107.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.33. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a twelve month low of $34.12 and a twelve month high of $52.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.76.

British American Tobacco Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.7391 per share. This represents a yield of 5.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. British American Tobacco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.78%.

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.