Wealth Alliance Sells 16,657 Shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Wealth Alliance trimmed its position in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 73.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,122 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,657 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 67.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,105,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,868,675 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 7.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,873,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,111,000 after acquiring an additional 206,117 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in British American Tobacco in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,480,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of British American Tobacco in the third quarter worth about $28,183,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of British American Tobacco in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,118,000. Institutional investors own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

British American Tobacco Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:BTI opened at $37.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a twelve month low of $28.25 and a twelve month high of $42.74. The company has a market cap of $78.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.05.

British American Tobacco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be given a $0.7391 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 30th. British American Tobacco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th.

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.