Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 19,903 Shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. $BTI

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 373,483 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,903 shares during the period. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $21,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BTI. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 12,870.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,470,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,687,000 after purchasing an additional 9,397,693 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 20.7% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 14,503,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,473,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482,737 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 3.0% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 64,057,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,399,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891,042 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 29.5% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,934,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 85.1% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,757,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,425 shares during the last quarter. 16.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of British American Tobacco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of British American Tobacco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.00.

British American Tobacco Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of BTI opened at $61.38 on Wednesday. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a 1 year low of $46.38 and a 1 year high of $67.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.28.

British American Tobacco Company Profile

British American Tobacco plc (BTI) is a multinational tobacco manufacturer and nicotine products company headquartered in London. Founded in 1902 as a joint venture to commercialize tobacco products outside the United States, the company has grown into one of the world’s largest tobacco firms with a long history in manufacturing and global distribution of combustible tobacco products.

BAT’s core business remains the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products under a portfolio of well-known consumer brands, including Dunhill, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Kent and Rothmans.