1,737,389 Shares in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) Purchased by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,737,389 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,760,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.08% of Ecopetrol as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $5,516,000 after acquiring an additional 271,296 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter valued at $2,060,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Ecopetrol by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 850,753 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,738,000 after purchasing an additional 158,585 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 48,309.7% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 144,745 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after buying an additional 144,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Ecopetrol during the third quarter valued at about $1,061,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EC shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $7.50 to $9.50 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ecopetrol currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 5.7 %

Ecopetrol stock opened at $9.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 1-year low of $7.21 and a 1-year high of $12.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.22.

Ecopetrol Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.5202 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 30%. This is a positive change from Ecopetrol’s previous — dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Ecopetrol’s payout ratio is presently 91.87%.

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.