Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Makes New Investment in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Key Points

• Legacy Capital Group California Inc. has made a new investment in British American Tobacco p.l.c. by acquiring 5,558 shares valued at approximately $230,000 in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in British American Tobacco, with Bank of Montreal Can boosting its stake by 2,565.4%, now owning over 2 million shares.
• British American Tobacco's stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $33.00, despite a recent downgrade from Wall Street Zen from "buy" to "hold."

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 7,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,430 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,232,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,641,000 after purchasing an additional 3,127,046 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 2,565.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,079,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,521,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001,311 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 78,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,844,000 after purchasing an additional 12,050 shares during the period. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of British American Tobacco in the fourth quarter valued at $950,000. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.00.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE BTI traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.25. 4,444,324 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,929,268. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a 12 month low of $34.17 and a 12 month high of $57.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $50.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.34.

British American Tobacco Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.7391 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 599.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. British American Tobacco's dividend payout ratio is 64.68%.

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.