New York State Common Retirement Fund Invests $29.98 Million in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)

New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,090,963 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock, valued at approximately $29,984,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 294,828 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $3,791,000 after acquiring an additional 46,429 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 23,536 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 20,738 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,135 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 8,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. increased its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 28,238 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,855 shares during the last quarter.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Down 0.8%

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $12.51. The company had a trading volume of 11,795,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,203,770. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 12-month low of $11.03 and a 12-month high of $15.73. The firm has a market cap of $80.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.86.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.2806 dividend. This represents a yield of 17.6%. This is an increase from Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's previous -- dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's payout ratio is 73.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PBR shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.30 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $17.40.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Company Profile

Petróleo Brasileiro SA - Petrobras explores, produces, and sells oil and gas in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation and Marketing; and Gas and Power. The Exploration and Production segment explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily for supplies to the domestic refineries.