Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 63.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 696,412 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 271,296 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $5,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Ecopetrol by 33.5% in 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 during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. Sage Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol in the 4th quarter valued at $91,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter valued at $94,000. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth $104,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on EC shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

Shares of Ecopetrol stock opened at $10.31 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.75. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 1 year low of $7.21 and a 1 year high of $12.90. The firm has a market cap of $21.20 billion, a PE ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Ecopetrol Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.5202 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This is a boost from Ecopetrol’s previous — dividend of $0.49. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.87%.

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.