What Type Of Shareholders Make Up British American Tobacco p.l.c.'s (LON:BATS) Share Registry?

Simply Wall St
·4 min read

A look at the shareholders of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LON:BATS) can tell us which group is most powerful. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. Warren Buffett said that he likes "a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people." So it's nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented.

British American Tobacco is a pretty big company. It has a market capitalization of UK£58b. Normally institutions would own a significant portion of a company this size. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions own shares in the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about British American Tobacco.

View our latest analysis for British American Tobacco

ownership-breakdown
ownership-breakdown

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About British American Tobacco?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

We can see that British American Tobacco does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of British American Tobacco, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in British American Tobacco. Capital Research and Management Company is currently the largest shareholder, with 12% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 8.1% and 8.0% of the stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 14 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of British American Tobacco

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in British American Tobacco p.l.c.. Insiders own UK£4.7b worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows a good alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public holds a 15% stake in British American Tobacco. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with British American Tobacco (including 1 which is a bit unpleasant) .

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting

Recommended Stories

  • Double Your Money by 2033 on Dividends Alone from This Top Energy Stock

    Kinder Morgan's slow and steady business model is centered on creating shareholder value through dividends, not high growth. As with most dividend stocks, the success of that strategy will depend on whether the company can continue to fund and raise its payouts over time without taking away too much of the cash it requires to run its business. Let's see if Kinder Morgan fits this criterion and is worth buying today.

  • Were Hedge Funds Right About AbbVie Inc (ABBV)?

    Hedge Funds and other institutional investors have just completed filing their 13Fs with the Securities and Exchange Commission, revealing their equity portfolios as of the end of June. At Insider Monkey, we follow nearly 900 active hedge funds and notable investors and by analyzing their 13F filings, we can determine the stocks that they are […]

  • 3 Crypto Stocks Gearing up for Gains; Analysts Say ‘Buy’

    The stock markets are at or near record highs right now, buoyed by a strong investors sentiment, especially among retail investors. Stocks represent a strong return while interest rates and bond yields remain low. But for return-minded investors, stocks are not the only game in town. The notoriously volatile Bitcoin has surged 109% this year, peaking above $65,000 earlier this month. Yet, some crypto watchers believe the digital coin will climb even higher. The cryptocurrency sector is worth app

  • Stimulus Money Could Cause the Stock Market to Plunge 15% by November

    Scott Minerd, global chief investment officer for financial firm Guggenheim, predicts that the stock market could drop 15% by November, according to a report by Business Insider. He blames the...

  • Rick Rule: This one asset will be vital during the 'dramatic reckoning' — and you probably already own it

    Protecting your portfolio is simpler than you think.

  • A Huge Pension Sold Netflix, Bank of America, and Intel Stock. Here’s What It Bought.

    State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio sold Netflix, Bank of America, and Intel stock in the third quarter. It bought Alibaba shares.

  • 3 Top Stocks I Plan to Buy in November

    A panel of Motley Fool contributors discusses what stocks they are planning to buy in November, historically a strong month for the market.

  • These Two Stocks Could 10X in 10 Years

    Immense returns can take time, but these two stocks provide exciting opportunities for patient investors.

  • AbbVie, Exxon Mobil, and Other Companies That Just Raised Their Dividends

    Exxon Mobil and AbbVie were among the large U.S. companies that announced dividend increases this past week, while Ford Motor reinstated its quarterly payout. Exxon Mobil (ticker: XOM) declared a quarterly dividend of 88 cents a share, up by a penny or about 1%. It marked the first quarterly dividend increase for the energy giant since April 2019 when it went from 82 to 87 cents a share.

  • 3 Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist If a Stock Market Crash Occurs

    Trouble may be brewing on Wall Street, but that's actually great news for opportunistic long-term investors.

  • I Bond rates can be an inflation hedge: What are they and why should you buy some now?

    You're going to hear more about I Bonds in November when some startling new rates are set to be announced. What are they and how do they work?

  • Lucid Group Keeps Delivering on Its Promises

    Share prices of Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) are up a staggering 38% in the last week. While some of the gains could be correlated with Tesla passing $1 trillion in market cap for the first time in its history, the bigger news for electric vehicle (EV) maker Lucid is that it's set to deliver the first wave of Lucid Air Dream Editions to customers this weekend. While it's true that Lucid has high expectations, even for a growth stock, the company deserves credit for hitting its goals on time.

  • Best Cryptocurrency Stocks for a Retirement Portfolio: 3 Experts Pick Their Faves

    Long-term investors can feel reasonably safe taking positions in these cryptocurrency-related assets.

  • Cathie Wood's $500K Bitcoin call is already happening — how to ride the wave to half a million

    Wood's wild prediction for Tesla came true. This one could, too.

  • How Many Years of Maxing Out a 401(k) Does It Take to Become a Millionaire?

    One million dollars is a popular benchmark for retirement savings. As the lowest whole number to use seven digits, $1 million makes for a straightforward wealth target. Reach it and you earn a fun title -- millionaire -- plus you have a nice nest egg to supplement your Social Security.

  • Got $250,000? These Game-Changing Stocks Can Make You a Millionaire by 2030

    Despite undergoing 38 double-digit percentage corrections or crashes since 1950, the broad-based S&P 500 has eventually erased each and every one of these downturns with a bull-market rally. The past couple of months have been nothing short of a roller-coaster ride for social media platform Pinterest (NYSE: PINS). Shares of the company were shellacked after reporting a surprise sequential quarterly dip in monthly active users (MAU) in the June-ended quarter, and they've been whipsawed in October after rumors swirled that PayPal may have had interest in purchasing Pinterest.

  • Kinder Morgan's Capital Discipline Illustrates Why It's a Great Dividend Stock

    Pipeline giant Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) is spending a lot less money than it used to. The company reported Q3 2021 earnings on Oct. 20, and signaled that it plans to keep a tight lid on spending. Here's why its strategy is great news for investors interested in collecting and counting on Kinder Morgan's 6% dividend yield.

  • 2 Toxic Cryptocurrencies to Sell Right Now

    Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) are up 40% and 1,000%, respectively, over the last 30 days. Founded in August 2020 by an anonymous developer called Ryoshi, Shiba Inu token is carefully designed to exploit popular dog memes on the internet. Shiba Inu's October rally has little fundamental support.

  • 3 Top Oil Stocks to Buy for the Long Haul

    Roughly a decade ago, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) spun off its downstream refining assets so it could focus solely on drilling for oil and natural gas. This integrated energy giant has a business that spans from the often-volatile upstream (drilling) segment through the stable midstream (pipelines) area and into the downstream (refining) space, which tends to benefit from lower oil prices.

  • 4 Supercharged Stocks That Can Run Circles Around Shiba Inu Over the Next 5 Years

    Arguably leading that charge of late is meme coin Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB). Since debuting on Aug. 1, 2020, Shiba Inu has seen its SHIB tokens rally by (drum roll) nearly 8,300,000%, based on a price of $0.00004231 per token, as of Oct. 25. This rally has pushed Shiba Inu to the No. 12 spot in market value among more than 13,000 cryptocurrencies.