British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Shares Sold by Rakuten Securities Inc.

Rakuten Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,856 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,304 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 67.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,105,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,868,675 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the fourth quarter valued at $55,620,000. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the fourth quarter valued at $31,480,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the third quarter valued at $28,183,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the third quarter valued at $27,118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BTI. StockNews.com upgraded British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. UBS Group upgraded British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

BTI stock opened at $40.99 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $28.25 and a 1 year high of $42.74. The firm has a market cap of $85.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.35.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.7491 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. British American Tobacco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.57%.

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.