Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Buys 1,844,700 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,963,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 1,844,700 shares during the quarter. Canadian Natural Resources accounts for approximately 1.1% of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 1.76% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $1,139,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNQ. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 92,550,104 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,857,337,000 after buying an additional 7,372,718 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 595.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,987 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 5,982 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 296,424 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $9,151,000 after purchasing an additional 17,694 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,109,432 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $746,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,437,771 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $136,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064,492 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

CNQ traded up $0.93 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.59. 1,231,088 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,402,436. The company has a market capitalization of $62.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.46. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a fifty-two week low of $24.65 and a fifty-two week high of $39.20.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st were paid a $0.4117 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.57%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is presently 77.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CNQ shares. Raymond James raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Tudor Pickering downgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.00.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).