230,202 Shares in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras $PBR Purchased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA opened a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras, buying 230,202 shares valued at about $4.78 million in the first quarter.
• Other institutional investors also adjusted their stakes in PBR, with several large funds reporting significant holdings in the oil and gas company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but slightly positive: the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy, with a consensus target price of $19.28, while shares recently opened at $16.11.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 230,202 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock, valued at approximately $4,777,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PBR. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 30,637,308 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $363,052,000 after purchasing an additional 10,425,563 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 18,975,177 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $224,856,000 after purchasing an additional 166,472 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 12,655,094 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $149,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562,473 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 5,335,330 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $63,224,000 after buying an additional 462,889 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 3,313,257 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $39,262,000 after buying an additional 18,100 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PBR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $20.30 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Bank of America raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $18.70 to $24.80 in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.28.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PBR opened at $16.11 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $103.79 billion, a PE ratio of 5.23, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.33. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 1-year low of $11.43 and a 1-year high of $22.24.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $23.54 billion for the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a net margin of 21.67% and a return on equity of 23.65%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.1426 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.04%.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Profile

Petróleo Brasileiro SA – Petrobras is a Brazilian, state-controlled integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Founded in 1953, Petrobras is principally engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, and operates across the full value chain from upstream activities through refining, transportation and downstream marketing of petroleum products. The company is a major player in Brazil's energy sector and is a listed public company with global capital market presence.

Petrobras's core activities include deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration and production, where it has been a pioneer in developing pre-salt reserves off Brazil's coast.

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