Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras $PBR Stock Position Reduced by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (PBR) by 37.3% in Q4, selling 190,165 shares and leaving it with 320,149 shares valued at about $3.79 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $18.35 target; notable notes include Bank of America upgrading to a "buy" (target $24.80) while Jefferies cut the rating to "hold."
• Special dividend: Petrobras declared a $0.1191 per-share special dividend payable May 28, with an ex-dividend date of April 24.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Free Report) by 37.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 320,149 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 190,165 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras were worth $3,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 20.9% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,702,467 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $34,213,000 after acquiring an additional 467,737 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 70.4% in the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 18,808,705 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $238,118,000 after acquiring an additional 7,772,595 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,342,000. North of South Capital LLP lifted its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 150.9% in the third quarter. North of South Capital LLP now owns 285,373 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $3,613,000 after acquiring an additional 171,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 8.3% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 1,969,030 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $24,928,000 after acquiring an additional 151,300 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on PBR. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $20.30 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $14.40 to $14.60 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $18.70 to $24.80 in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.35.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Price Performance

Shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras stock opened at $21.88 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 1-year low of $11.03 and a 1-year high of $22.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.20, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.38.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, February 15th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 24.26%. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be paid a $0.1191 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 24th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras's payout ratio is presently 10.86%.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Company 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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