Causeway Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in British American Tobacco p.l.c. $BTI

Causeway Capital Management LLC lowered its position in British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI) by 13.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 458,703 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71,896 shares during the quarter. Causeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings in British American Tobacco were worth $24,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BTI. City State Bank grew its stake in shares of British American Tobacco by 10.5% during the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in British American Tobacco by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 633 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in British American Tobacco by 2.0% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 1.2% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 19,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. 16.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BTI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of British American Tobacco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Kepler Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Friday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of British American Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of British American Tobacco in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

British American Tobacco Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of British American Tobacco stock opened at $58.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $59.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.36. British American Tobacco p.l.c. has a fifty-two week low of $37.96 and a fifty-two week high of $63.22.

British American Tobacco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.8349 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 29th.

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.