Bank of America Corp DE Cuts Holdings in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,147,859 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $24,931,000 after buying an additional 96,909 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter worth $13,760,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ecopetrol by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 850,753 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,738,000 after purchasing an additional 158,585 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ecopetrol by 63.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 696,412 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,516,000 after purchasing an additional 271,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Ecopetrol by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 540,695 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,282,000 after purchasing an additional 7,009 shares in the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Ecopetrol stock opened at $8.67 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.75 and a 200-day moving average of $8.88. 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 company has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a PE ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.82. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 1-year low of $7.21 and a 1-year high of $12.67.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $7.50 to $9.50 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th.

About Ecopetrol

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.