British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) Shares Sold by Townsend & Associates Inc

Townsend & Associates Inc lessened its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,579 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,970 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $1,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in British American Tobacco by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 112,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 3,424 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in British American Tobacco by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 18,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 7,292 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 10.8% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 36,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 3,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 7,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. 21.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

British American Tobacco Price Performance

BTI stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $30.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,086,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,879,693. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.09. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a twelve month low of $28.25 and a twelve month high of $35.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

British American Tobacco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a $0.7431 dividend. This represents a $2.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of British American Tobacco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday.

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.