Stokes Family Office LLC Has $528,000 Stake in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,664 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC’s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ecopetrol by 81.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 425,116 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,796,000 after acquiring an additional 190,293 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at about $790,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth about $2,060,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth about $179,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Ecopetrol by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 56,783 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 21,703 shares during the last quarter.

Ecopetrol Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE EC opened at $10.21 on Thursday. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 12 month low of $7.21 and a 12 month high of $12.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.53 and a 200-day moving average of $8.74. The company has a market cap of $20.98 billion, a PE ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 1.22.

Ecopetrol Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised shares of Ecopetrol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ecopetrol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

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.