Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 271,296 Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) by 63.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 696,412 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 271,296 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $5,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EC. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ecopetrol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,060,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the third quarter worth $1,061,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the fourth quarter worth $790,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Ecopetrol during the third quarter worth $458,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the fourth quarter valued at $179,000.

Ecopetrol Stock Performance

Shares of EC stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.22. 2,757,050 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,289,706. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 52 week low of $7.21 and a 52 week high of $12.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $9.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.68.

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Ecopetrol Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup raised Ecopetrol from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ecopetrol from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $7.50 to $9.50 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 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.