Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 97,770 Shares of Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. cut its stake in Ecopetrol S.A. (NYSE:EC - Free Report) by 89.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,493 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 97,770 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in Ecopetrol were worth $103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hilltop Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ecopetrol during the third quarter worth $458,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ecopetrol in the third quarter worth about $1,061,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Ecopetrol by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 56,783 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 21,703 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ecopetrol by 81.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 190,293 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Ecopetrol during the 3rd quarter valued at about $188,000.

Ecopetrol Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of EC traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.22. 1,429,203 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,117,249. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Ecopetrol S.A. has a 52 week low of $7.21 and a 52 week high of $13.14. The company has a market cap of $16.90 billion, a PE ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EC. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Ecopetrol from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com lowered Ecopetrol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ecopetrol from $8.50 to $7.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $8.50.

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.