Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its holdings in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 230,630 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 79,314 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE's holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $1,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth $13,760,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ecopetrol by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 696,412 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,516,000 after buying an additional 271,296 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth $2,060,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Ecopetrol by 172.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 370,555 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,935,000 after buying an additional 234,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth $1,523,000.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 0.5%

EC stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $8.68. 1,338,507 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,426,917. The business's 50 day moving average price is $8.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.88. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 52-week low of $7.21 and a 52-week high of $12.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.5202 per share. This represents a yield of 34.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Ecopetrol's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EC. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup raised Ecopetrol from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Ecopetrol Profile

Ecopetrol SA operates as an integrated energy company. The company operates through four segments: Exploration and Production; Transport and Logistics; Refining, Petrochemical and Biofuels; and Electric Power Transmission and Toll Roads Concessions. It engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas; transportation of crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, including diesel, jet, and biofuels; processing and refining crude oil; distribution of natural gas and LPG; sale of refined and petrochemical products; supplying of electric power transmission services; design, development, construction, operation, and maintenance of road and energy infrastructure projects; and supplying of information technology and telecommunications services.