Royal Bank of Canada Sells 404,316 Shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Free Report) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,296,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 404,316 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.06% of British American Tobacco worth $47,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 152,262 shares of the company's stock worth $5,530,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 38,163 shares of the company's stock worth $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 337,799 shares of the company's stock worth $12,269,000 after acquiring an additional 31,722 shares in the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 130,776 shares of the company's stock worth $4,750,000 after acquiring an additional 3,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. 16.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BTI shares. UBS Group raised British American Tobacco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen raised British American Tobacco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on British American Tobacco in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

British American Tobacco Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BTI traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $45.17. 1,287,214 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,947,434. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company's 50 day moving average price is $42.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.49. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a 12 month low of $30.01 and a 12 month high of $45.66.

About British American Tobacco

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.