Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Shares Bought by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) by 89.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,071 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,324 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 341,687 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 25,310 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Ecopetrol by 48,309.7% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 144,745 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,146,000 after buying an additional 144,446 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC raised its stake in Ecopetrol by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 66,664 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,978 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

EC traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $8.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,869,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,371,703. Ecopetrol S.A. has a fifty-two week low of $7.21 and a fifty-two week high of $12.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.43 billion, a PE ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.80.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a $0.5202 dividend. This represents a yield of 34.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. Ecopetrol's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EC shares. StockNews.com lowered Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $7.50 to $9.50 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised Ecopetrol from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ecopetrol has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.00.

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.