Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 600,410 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 30,081 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $7,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EC. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 0.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 198,961 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Ecopetrol by 11.1% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 10,610 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Credit Suisse AG boosted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 11,308 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 17,219 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ecopetrol by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 161,098 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,866,000 after buying an additional 2,504 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EC shares. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Ecopetrol from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $8.50 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Ecopetrol from $12.00 to $10.30 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

NYSE:EC opened at $11.45 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.88. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 52 week low of $8.59 and a 52 week high of $13.14.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

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

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.