Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 30,081 Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its stake in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 600,410 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 30,081 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $7,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EC. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ecopetrol in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the first quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Ecopetrol by 2,285.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,491 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 7,177 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the 1st quarter worth $106,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Ecopetrol by 165.8% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,208 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 6,368 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on EC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ecopetrol from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $12.00 to $10.30 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Ecopetrol from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $11.00 to $8.50 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Price Performance

EC opened at $11.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 12 month low of $8.59 and a 12 month high of $13.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.88.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 25th will be issued a $0.7999 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 25th. This represents a yield of 19.5%. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.42%.

Ecopetrol Company 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.