Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 83,983 Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 819,162 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 83,983 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $9,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter worth $85,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the third quarter worth $131,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the third quarter worth $158,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the third quarter valued at about $185,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Ecopetrol by 76.2% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,332 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 9,225 shares in the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Trading Up 0.5 %

EC stock opened at $11.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.87. Ecopetrol S.A. has a one year low of $8.88 and a one year high of $13.14.

Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The oil and gas company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter. Ecopetrol had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 10.84%. Research analysts forecast that Ecopetrol S.A. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Ecopetrol Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.7999 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 25th. This represents a dividend yield of 19.5%. Ecopetrol’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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 upped their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $10.30 to $11.90 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Ecopetrol from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $8.50 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ecopetrol has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.27.

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.