Bleakley Financial Group LLC Acquires 7,111 Shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,693 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,111 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $1,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 493,451 shares of the company's stock worth $17,922,000 after purchasing an additional 7,875 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in 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 worth $221,343,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196,020 shares during the last quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in British American Tobacco during the 4th quarter worth about $1,050,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in British American Tobacco by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 82,029 shares of the company's stock worth $2,979,000 after acquiring an additional 14,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in British American Tobacco by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 159,363 shares of the company's stock worth $5,788,000 after acquiring an additional 27,492 shares during the last quarter. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BTI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.00.

British American Tobacco Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:BTI traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.27. The stock had a trading volume of 6,750,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,311,904. The firm has a market cap of $107.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a twelve month low of $31.92 and a twelve month high of $52.38.

British American Tobacco Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.7391 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.99%. British American Tobacco's dividend 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.