Marshall Wace LLP Purchases 234,459 Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) by 172.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 370,555 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 234,459 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $2,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 317.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,784 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,638 shares during the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,480 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 2,128 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Ecopetrol by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,978 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Ecopetrol Trading Down 0.9 %

EC traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $7.99. 1,640,123 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,776,314. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.42 billion, a PE ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 52-week low of $7.21 and a 52-week high of $12.67.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $0.5202 dividend. This represents a yield of 34.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Ecopetrol's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.73%.

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.