Rakuten Securities Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)

Rakuten Securities Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Free Report) by 51.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,743 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 73,377 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.'s holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Truffle Hound Capital LLC acquired a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the fourth quarter valued at $2,572,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 342,752 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $4,408,000 after acquiring an additional 72,930 shares during the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co lifted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 216,399 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 81,867 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 520,911 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $7,470,000 after acquiring an additional 94,165 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 278,369 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $3,580,000 after purchasing an additional 68,363 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PBR shares. Wall Street Zen raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.30 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. HSBC raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.47.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

Shares of PBR traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $13.08. The company had a trading volume of 26,365,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,927,682. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. 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 50 day simple moving average of $11.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.96. The company has a market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.84.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Increases Dividend

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

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.