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

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its position in 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 SEC. The fund owned 1,296,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 404,316 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.06% of British American Tobacco worth $47,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BTI. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in British American Tobacco by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,045 shares of the company's stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in British American Tobacco by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,853 shares of the company's stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in British American Tobacco by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,244 shares of the company's stock worth $953,000 after buying an additional 2,881 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in British American Tobacco by 45.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 46,286 shares of the company's stock worth $1,681,000 after buying an additional 14,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new position in British American Tobacco during the fourth quarter worth $283,000. 16.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on BTI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. UBS Group upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.00.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

BTI opened at $44.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $91.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.82 and a 200 day moving average of $39.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.76. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a fifty-two week low of $30.01 and a fifty-two week high of $44.79.

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.

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