Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras $PBR Shares Sold by Thornburg Investment Management Inc.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) by 95.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 346,334 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock after selling 7,367,164 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras were worth $4,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PBR. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 20.9% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 467,737 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 70.4% during the 3rd 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 period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,342,000. North of South Capital LLP increased its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 150.9% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 171,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 7.4% during the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,994,268 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $25,247,000 after purchasing an additional 137,370 shares during the last quarter.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Stock Down 0.5%

PBR stock opened at $16.63 on Friday. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a 1-year low of $11.03 and a 1-year high of $16.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $13.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $107.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.70, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.49.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.0658 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras’s payout ratio is 18.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have 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 Saturday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $13.10 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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 report on Wednesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.98.

About Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

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.