Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 27,492 Shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 20.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,363 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 27,492 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $5,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 46.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 24,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $887,000 after buying an additional 7,686 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 4.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 128,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,712,000 after acquiring an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of British American Tobacco during the third quarter valued at about $672,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 35.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,085,000 after purchasing an additional 43,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in British American Tobacco by 89.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 66,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 31,250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BTI shares. UBS Group upgraded 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.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

BTI stock opened at $40.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.47 and a 200 day moving average of $37.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $84.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 0.50. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a 1 year low of $28.25 and a 1 year high of $42.74.

British American Tobacco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.7491 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. British American Tobacco’s 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.