Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Boosts Stake in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its position in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,162 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,723 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.'s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $3,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in British American Tobacco by 87.0% during the first quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 602 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 610 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 78.5% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 632 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 292.7% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 644 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors own 16.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BTI. Bank of America began coverage on British American Tobacco in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded British American Tobacco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Friday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, British American Tobacco currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

British American Tobacco Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:BTI traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.92. 5,533,465 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,225,394. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a 12-month low of $31.50 and a 12-month high of $49.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.69.

British American Tobacco Cuts Dividend

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

British American Tobacco Company 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.