Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 280,364 Shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI - Free Report) by 73.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 101,542 shares of the company's stock after selling 280,364 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $3,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in British American Tobacco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,620,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in British American Tobacco by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,094,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,343,000 after buying an additional 1,196,020 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 202.8% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 1,369,751 shares of the company's stock worth $49,749,000 after buying an additional 917,334 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in British American Tobacco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,480,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,820,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.16% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BTI shares. UBS Group raised shares of British American Tobacco from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded British American Tobacco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 0.3 %

British American Tobacco stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $42.50. 9,485,583 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,691,133. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a one year low of $29.07 and a one year high of $42.74. The company has a market cap of $87.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $40.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.09.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.7491 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. British American Tobacco's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.57%.

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.