Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 456,814 Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,002,235 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 456,814 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 4.28% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $2,778,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 144.1% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 830 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank bought a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Canadian Natural Resources during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 74.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CNQ shares. Evercore ISI raised Canadian Natural Resources from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Tudor Pickering lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.00.

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Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CNQ traded down $0.40 on Friday, hitting $30.55. The company had a trading volume of 6,077,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,517,741. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $29.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of $25.62 and a 1 year high of $41.29.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.4117 per share. This represents a $1.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.39%. This is a boost from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is presently 77.88%.

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).